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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 













# 


The Pupil and How to 
Teach Him 






The Pupil and How to 
Teach Him 


By ELDON GRANT BURR1TT, A. M. 

President of Greenville College 


Introduction by John LaDue, A. M. 


REVISED EDITION 


O i 

* 

» 9 > 

♦ • 

' * > 


W. B. ROSE, Publisher 
1132 Washington Boul., Chicago 
1923 



..IB «* 


Copyright, 1910 
by E. G. Burbitt 

Copyright, Revised Edition, 1923 
by E. G. Burbitt 


SEP 24'23 


l 0 Cl A 7 5 9 0 8 4 



I 


PREFACE 


Among the great forces that make for in¬ 
dividual and social righteousness the Sunday- 
school holds a strategic position. An organiza¬ 
tion which in our own country alone secures 
the systematic study of the Word of God by 
thirteen million pupils is the radiating center 
of forces that are stupendous in their power of 
accomplishment. To realize its full possibili¬ 
ties, the Sunday-school must develop within its 
ranks efficient leadership. As the state in sec¬ 
ular education erects standards of efficiency 
and presents strong incentives to adequate 
preparation, so the church must make similar 
and suitable provision for the training of Sun¬ 
day-school leaders and workers. 

The movement in favor of better prepara¬ 
tion for teaching is the key to true Sunday- 
school success. The most important factor of 
the Sunday-school is the teacher. He must be 
a “fisher of men.” Ilis qualifications will in¬ 
clude a knowledge of fish, and the divine art of 
baiting a hook and casting a line. 

This little book aims to be of service to those 

5 


PREFACE 


! 


who desire to qualify themselves for teaching. 
Its purpose is to make available for the teacher 
the primary facts of mental and spiritual 
growth, and the fundamental principles which 
underlie the impartation of instruction. It 
makes no claim to originality, but has appro¬ 
priated from various sources material to which 
no one has the exclusive right. The effort has 
been to present the facts and to draw conclu¬ 
sions in untechnical language and in popular 
style. The book has been endorsed by the Ed¬ 
ucational Committee of the International Sun¬ 
day School Association as a suitable text-book 
for the First Standard Teacher Training 
Course covering the subjects, The Child and 
the Teacher. 

If this book has a useful ministry in help¬ 
ing to prepare men and women to be co-la¬ 
borers with God in the service of the Sunday- 
school, it will afford the deepest satisfaction to 

the author. e. g. b. 

Greenville, Illinois, January, 1910. 


6 


NOTE TO THE REVISED EDITION 

A new edition of The Pupil and How to 
Teach Him furnishes an opportunity to make 
some changes suggested by more recent studies 
in Psychology and Pedagogy. While the 
ground covered remains essentially the same, 
the order of the chapters is changed so that 
those given to the study of the mind now pre¬ 
cede those devoted to the special study of the 
child. In the interest of clear and adequate 
treatment some paragraphs have been rewrit¬ 
ten and others given a fuller treatment. The 
topics following each chapter may be found 
helpful. e. g. b. 

February 1 , 1923 . 


1 



CONTENTS 


I. 

Religious Education 



13 

II. 

The Study of the Child 



21 

III. 

The Mind and Its Activities 



30 

IV. 

Attention .... 



36 

V. 

Acquiring Knowledge . 



48 

VI. 

Memory. 



56 

VII. 

Imagination .... 



68 

VIII. 

Thought . 



79 

IX. 

The Feelings .... 



94 

X. 

Moral and Religious Sentiments 



105 

XI. 

Will, Habit, and Character . 



119 

XII. 

The Beginners 



135 

XIII. 

The Primary Age . 



145 

XIV. 

The Juniors .... 



155 

XV. 

The Intermediates 



167 

XVI. 

The Seniors and Young People 



181 

XVII. 

The Adults .... 



191 

XVIII. 

The Preparation of the Teacher 



197 

XIX. 

Principles of Teaching . 



204 

XX. 

Methods of Instruction 



210 

XXI. 

Teaching Suggestions . 



224 


9 

































































INTRODUCTION 


Successful Sunday-school teaching requires 
not only a knowledge of the Bible, but also a 
knowledge of those to whom the Bible is taught. 
The same methods of presentation will not do 
for the primary class, the boys and girls in 
their early teens and the adult class. No one 
probably will deny this, and it may seem a 
needless statement of a self-evident common¬ 
place. But the characteristic differences and 
needs of different ages are founded largely on 
different physical and mental conditions. The 
study of these conditions has doubtless been of 
much help in arranging the courses of study 
and the methods of teaching in the secular 
schools. Some quite clearly defined facts seem 
to have been discovered and to have been con¬ 
firmed by extensive observation and practise. 
These facts, in large measure, are as important 
for the Sunday-school as for the day school, 
and it must necessarily increase a teacher’s 
efficiency to become acquainted with them and 
put them in operation. 

Men are studying with increasing intensity 

11 


INTRODUCTION 


the principles of business and laws of trade, 
the life history of corn, of chinch bugs, of cot¬ 
ton boll weevils, of bees, of horses, cattle and 
hogs. Is it not worth while to study the nature, 
growth and needs of children and young peo¬ 
ple? 

For that purpose this book has been written; 
and the author is peculiarly well qualified for 
the task. From childhood he was reared 
in the Sunday-school. For years he has been 
a Sunday-school superintendent and an in¬ 
structor of children and young people. Since 
serving as president of Greenville College he 
has paid special attention to the teaching of 
subjects in the field of mental science. He thus 
knows the problem well, both from the theoret¬ 
ical and also the practical standpoint, and he 
has handled it not only ably, but also devoutly, 
with a refreshing absence of the evolutionistic 
materialism that appears in so much of the 
present literature on this subject. May the 
blessing of Christ richly attend this endeavor 
to increase the efficiency of the great work of 

the Sunday-school. John LaDue. 

Greenville College. 


I 


RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

To understand the place and function of the 
Sunday-school, we must know something of the 
nature and end of all education, and the place 
of the Sunday-school in our general educa¬ 
tional system. 

True Education Religious. “What is a 
Christian teacher, charged with the education 
of the young?” asked the celebrated Rollin, 
two hundred years ago. ‘ ‘ He is a man in whose 
hands Jesus Christ has placed a certain num¬ 
ber of children whom He has redeemed by His 
blood, in whom He lives as His temple, whom 
He regards as His members, as His brethren, 
as His co-heirs; of whom He wishes to make 
kings and priests who will reign and serve God 
with Him and by Him through all eternity. 
And for what purpose has He confided chil¬ 
dren to him? Is it just to make poets, ora¬ 
tors, philosophers and scholars of them ? Who 
would dare say or even think that? It is for 
the purpose of making true Christians of them. 

13 


X 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


This is the end of education, and all the rest 
holds the place of means. ” This spiritual con¬ 
ception of the nature of education is the true 
conception. It has inspired the greatest 
teachers of the past, and animates an increas¬ 
ing number in the present. 

Ultimate End of Education. Among the pur¬ 
poses of education set forth by modern edu¬ 
cators, are 1 ‘ livelihood, ’’ “ citizenship, ’ ’ and 
‘‘culture.” These, however, good as they are, 
are only proximate ends. The ultimate end as 
stated by Butler is to secure for the individual 
“an adjustment to the spiritual possessions of 
the race.” Among these possessions is “relig¬ 
ion.” The real end of education, therefore, is 
an acquaintance with God, a due appreciation 
of appropriate conduct growing out of our re¬ 
lation to Him, and of the institutions of the 
church in which our religious ideas find out¬ 
ward form and expression. True education 
aims at spiritual life, moral excellence, and so¬ 
cial efficiency. It is the process by which char¬ 
acter is developed and the individual fitted for 
the service of life. 

Any consideration of the real purpose of ed¬ 
ucation reveals the exalted place of the Sun¬ 
day-school and the dignity of the Sunday- 

14 


RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


school teacher. The position of the Sunday- 
school as an educational institution is central. 
The place of the Sunday-school teacher is full 
of honor, his opportunities great, his reward 
beyond compare. “They that be teachers 
(margin) shall shine as the brightness of the 
firmament; and they that turn many to right¬ 
eousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Dan. 
12:3). 

Agencies of Education. The most important 
agencies contributing to the formal education 
of child life are three: 

1. The home. “The family,” says Laurie, 
“is the chief agency in the education of the 
young, and, as such, it ought never to be su¬ 
perseded.” Its influences are exercised early 
and continuously, and are prompted by feel¬ 
ings of love and responsibility. Conscious in¬ 
struction is given in speech and deportment, 
and emphasis is placed upon the ideals of mo¬ 
rality and religion. The home is responsible 
for the child’s fundamental attitudes toward 
nature, society, religion and God. 

2. The Public School. Among the activities 
of the government is the organization and 
maintenance of the public school system. It 
undertakes an elaborate program of formal in- 

15 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


struction and discipline. While its purpose is 
conceived more or less clearly as ethical and 
social, it is understood to be largely vocational 
and secular. The constitutional separation of 
Church and State has in many states altogether 
eliminated the Bible from the public schools. 
These schools, therefore, of themselves from 
kindergarten to university, serve but very im¬ 
perfectly the ultimate end of education, which 
is the development of moral character through 
the cultivation of the religious spirit. 

3. The Sunday-school. Transcending the 
government is the nation. And, as President 
Butler points out, the national system of edu¬ 
cation, expressive of the nation’s life and 
ideals, transcends the public school system. In¬ 
cluded in the national system of education are 
the various agencies of religious education, 
such as Young Men’s Christian Association 
schools, parochial schools, denominational col¬ 
leges, and Sunday-schools. It can be shown 
that the Sunday-school is superior in its appeal 
to all classes and ages to the other agencies of 
religious education, and stands out as the one 
great movement which is adequate to solve the 
problem of religious education. This concep¬ 
tion of the Sunday-school suggests the exalted 

16 


RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


place which it occupies in our national educa¬ 
tion. The Sunday-school is religious in its 
aim, and educational in its method. It seeks 
not only to inform the mind, but to influence 
conduct, and to secure and develop right char¬ 
acter. It aims at a transformation of heart and 
life. To depreciate the Sunday-school is an 
offense against true education as it is against 
morals and religion. 

Double Relation of the Sunday-school. Com¬ 
pleting as it does our educational system by 
emphasizing morals and religion, the Sunday- 
school has a two-fold connection: 

1. Related to the church. Organized to 
teach religion, and morals which find a sound 
basis in the Christian religion, it is naturally 
affiliated with the church, whose specific object 
is the promotion of religion. The church should 
organize and control it, and the whole church 
should feel an interest in it and attend it. It 
is a service of the church, and its exercises are 
acts of worship. Its true and ultimate aim 
should be to win souls to Christ, develop them 
in Christian character and train them in 
Christian service. 

2. Related to the school. The firm founda¬ 
tion upon which Christianity and Christian 

17 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


character rest is a knowledge of the Bible. The 
second aim of the Sunday-school, therefore, is 
to impart this knowledge. This aim has impor¬ 
tant connections with the various educational 
questions with which secular education is con¬ 
cerned, such as courses of study, qualifications 
of teachers and methods of teaching. The Sun¬ 
day-school is an educational service, at which 
a knowledge of the Bible, its biographies, his¬ 
tories and doctrines are actually taught and 
learned. “To conceive of it in any way which 
will obscure its function as an educational in¬ 
stitution will be fatal to any right conception 
of its work.” Any principles or methods that 
have been found useful in secular schools ought 
to be understood and applied so far as possible 
by the Sunday-school teacher. A prime essen¬ 
tial to any great or permanent success in Sun¬ 
day-school work is scientific instruction. The 
teacher must be able to impart such instruc¬ 
tion. 

The Qualifications of a Teacher. It is unan¬ 
imously agreed that the important problems of 
the modern Sunday-school are teacher prob¬ 
lems. President Little declares that “the edu¬ 
cational problem of every century is to find the 
schoolmaster, not to find the school.” Pro- 

18 


RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


fessor Hamill is quoted as saying that ‘‘the 
trained Sunday-school teacher alone is the key 
to the perplexing problem of the modern Sun¬ 
day-school. ' ’ Professor Brumbaugh asserts 
truly that “the transcendent need of the Sun¬ 
day-school is teachers/' All the suggested ac¬ 
cessories of a modern Sunday-school may be 
present, but they do not make a Sunday-school 
if the right kind of teacher is lacking. It is 
the teacher that makes the Sunday-school. The 
right kind of teacher will know three things: 

1. The Bible. It is his text-book. It con¬ 
tains the subject-matter of instruction. He 
must know it—its history, geography, great 
characters, and its great moral truths. His 
teaching must be drawn from it, not from his 
own opinions or prejudices. It will be his text¬ 
book in every department, with every pupil. 
It is adapted to the primary and to the most 
advanced classes. Hence the teacher must 
know it comprehensively and analytically. He 
will study it by books, paragraphs, sentences 
and words. To be a precise Bible student 
should be the great ambition of the teacher. 

2. Methods of teaching. A wise teacher will 
know the tested methods by which knowledge 
is communicated to pupils, how the feelings are 

19 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


stirred, and how the will is moved. These 
methods are based upon educational principles 
which are universal and unchangeable. 

3. The child or pupil. A knowledge of hu¬ 
man nature—the periods of human develop¬ 
ment, the characteristics of each period, and 
the appropriate instruction and training for 
each period—is included in the equipment of 
the successful teacher. 

Realizing what is involved in the great work 
of education, and the essential connection of 
the Sunday-school with this work, that the Sun¬ 
day-school is as really educational as it is evan¬ 
gelistic, and that careful preparation is neces¬ 
sary in proportion to the interests involved, 
surely the Sunday-school teacher will work and 
pray for such an equipment, in the knowledge 
of the Word and of those whom he serves, that 
his ministry may be in the highest sense fruit¬ 
ful in the formation of Christian character and 
the cultivation of lives of power. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. Religious education in the home. 

2. Secular ideals in education. 

3. Religious education in the public schools. 

4. The various agencies of religious education. 


20 


II 


THE STUDY OF THE CHILD 

Preparation for teaching was for a long time 
conceived to be a mere knowledge of the sub¬ 
ject of instruction. It is now believed that a 
teacher can take higher vantage ground in the 
additional knowledge of the persons to be 
taught. We expect a p'hysician to understand 
not only materia medica and chemistry, but 
anatomy, physiology and hygiene, as well. He 
must know as much as possible about quinine 
and calomel, but an indiscriminate dispenser 
of either would likely do more harm than good. 
A physician must be concerned with diagnosis 
and intelligent prescription. 

So a teacher must know his pupils, as well 
as the subject he is to teach. Otherwise he is 
likely to prescribe a genealogy or an impre¬ 
catory psalm where the demand requires the 
beatitudes or the ten commandments. If it is de¬ 
sirable for a farmer to understand scientifically 
his growing crops; for a fruit-grower to have a 
sympathetic and intelligent knowledge of trees; 

21 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


for a stockman to comprehend the nature of 
his horses, cattle and sheep; surely the Sunday- 
school teacher will draw from every source 
that accurate and classified knowledge of child 
nature that will enable him to minister to the 
needs of his pupils, to enable them to develop 
character and bring forth fruit to the glory of 
God. The scientific study of apple-nature and 
pig-nature has resulted in superior apples and 
pigs. It is believed that the same study of hu¬ 
man nature will contribute to a superior qual¬ 
ity of manhood and womanhood. A careful 
study of the child will reveal: 

The Significance of Childhood. Human life 
is marvelously complex. Its relations and du¬ 
ties are .various and intricate. The range of its 
activities is wide. For this complicated life of 
manhood and womanhood, an elaborate prep¬ 
aration is required. To make this preparation 
possible the childhood of a man is provided 
with two characteristic features: 

1. A lengthened infancy. This is full of 
importance for the development of the individ¬ 
ual and the race. In this respect man is differ¬ 
ent from the lower animals. They are prac¬ 
tically mature at birth, or reach maturity a 
few months later. But the human infant is 

22 


THE STUDY OF THE CHILD 


the most helpless of all infants, and after pass¬ 
ing through a lengthened period of depend¬ 
ence, he gradually comes to mature manhood 
after many years. Animals find their prepara¬ 
tions for life largely ready made, laid down in 
an inherited structure. But man finds his 
preparation in the opportunities of a length¬ 
ened childhood. To further assist the child in 
making the fullest possible preparation for life 
he has: 

2. Extraordinary plasticity. As compared 
with the lower animals he is far more respon¬ 
sive to external conditions. He is more impres¬ 
sionable to environment and preserves this 
sensitivity for a period of time corresponding 
to the excessive demands of later life. In this 
plastic structure of the child are stored up or¬ 
ganized experiences which constitute centers 
of interest in after years. The wise parent will 
take advantage of every opportunity to intro¬ 
duce the child to a wide range of valuable ex¬ 
perience during the impressionable period. The 
Sunday-school teacher will think of childhood 
as sacred and his relation to it attended with 
the greatest responsibility. The Rev. Pascal 
Harrower has said that “no ideas can become 
the permanent possession of the world which 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


do not first enter through the door of child¬ 
hood. The woof and web of Christian charac¬ 
ter and faith are wrought out during the school 
period of life.” When this period is passed it 
can not be recalled, and although compara¬ 
tively long, it is not too long to make adequate 
preparation for the demands of after life. 

The Two Factors of Development. Effective 
in the making of an individual are two essen¬ 
tial factors. One of these is heredity. Every 
child is born into life with racial and individ¬ 
ual characteristics, which are transmitted to 
him from his immediate and more remote an¬ 
cestry, and which constitute an initial stock of 
achieving power. Heredity furnishes the foun¬ 
dation and fixes the limits of life attainment. 

The other factor is environment. This fac¬ 
tor, which may include training, stimulates 
into actuality the qualities received by inheri¬ 
tance. As heredity furnishes the foundation, 
so environment and training determine the su¬ 
perstructure of life’s achievement. The im¬ 
portance of this factor lies in the plasticity of 
the human organism. The plasticity of the 
child may render him susceptible in a remark¬ 
able degree to his environment. The child may 
undergo wonderful modification in the course 

24 


THE STUDY OF THE CHILD 


of his development, and partly compensate for 
defects in heredity. The parent and teacher 
may choose the child’s environment, and so 
may direct him in what he shall become. In 
this fact lies great opportunity and responsi¬ 
bility. The Sunday-school teacher will seek to 
furnish his pupils with such an environment of 
divine truth and Christian example as will call 
forth in symmetrical development the latent 
possibilities of soul and life. 

The Basis of Child Study. In recent years 
the subject of the child has assumed great im¬ 
portance and yielded results of much value to 
teachers. Child study is found to rest upon 
the following facts: 

1. Children are different from adults. They 
are not merely men of smaller stature. They 
have characteristics, physical and mental, pe¬ 
culiar to themselves. Children differ from 
adults in powers of endurance and in the phy¬ 
siological processes of circulation and respira¬ 
tion. Children are frequently overtaxed. 
Physical exhaustion is frequently mistaken for 
stupidity, a perfectly normal restlessness for 
total depravity. This superabundant activity, 
inquisitiveness and mischievousness will be 
very exasperating to those who look upon chil- 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


dren as little men and little women; but the 
teacher who understands will not be “easily 
provoked. ’ ’ 

Children have their own peculiar ways of 
thinking and feeling. They are concerned 
with the immediate and the near. They are 
not easily moved to present self-denial to se¬ 
cure some future blessing. They are concerned 
with the concrete, not with the abstract. Jus¬ 
tice, mercy and truth as qualities are quite be¬ 
yond them, but they do understand and appre¬ 
ciate these qualities clothed in living personal¬ 
ity. Adults restrain and control their feel¬ 
ings, but children live in a succession of highly 
emotional states. They feel intensely. Tears 
and laughter alternate in rapid sequence. Yet 
such feelings as love, sympathy, mercy, sacri¬ 
fice and sorrow are rudimentary. The higher 
intellectual, social, moral and religious feelings 
are undeveloped, and appeals to these feelings 
will result frequently in disappointment to 
those interested in their training. 

2. Children pass through certain well de¬ 
fined stages in their lives. Kirkpatrick says 
that “child study is concerned with all the 
changes that take place in human beings before 
they reach maturity/’ The various instincts 


THE STUDY OP THE CHILD 


culminate at different times. Perception, im¬ 
agination, memory, judgment, and reason suc¬ 
cessively mature. 

3. Children have individual peculiarities. 
No two possess the same attitudes and tenden¬ 
cies. Each has characteristics peculiar to him¬ 
self. In weight, size, temperament, capability, 
and opportunity, each is different from the 
other. The recognition of individual differ¬ 
ences lies at the basis of scientific education. 

Child study, therefore, has a sound basis in 
facts. It investigates the factors in human de¬ 
velopment, studies the natural order of growth, 
determines the modifying effect of various con¬ 
ditions and activities at different stages, and 
seeks to establish educational values and the 
best educational methods. A knowledge of the 
child and how to reach him with the lesson of 
truth is fundamental in a teacher’s equipment. 

Methods of Child Study. There are three 
ways by which we come to a knowledge of child 
life. 

1. Books and papers. A growing literature 
is available for prospective teachers and others 
interested in child life. Excellent books are 
issued on the study of the mind and the princi¬ 
ples and methods of teaching, popular and at- 

27 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


tractive in style and sound and thorough in 
treatment. 

2. Direct observation. We may study the 
child himself as he grows into youth and man¬ 
hood. We may observe the development of his 
senses, the unfolding of his powers, the awaken¬ 
ing of his moral sense, his ambitions, occupa¬ 
tions, and language, his ideas and his pleas¬ 
ures. We may study not only one but many 
children, comparing those of different condi¬ 
tions and environments. 

3. Self study. We may recall our own un¬ 
folding experience, our points of view in child¬ 
hood, our attitude toward various conditions, 
our hopes and fears, our childish aversions and 
aspirations. Happy for us and our pupils if 
we can go back over the pathway of our life 
and look out again upon life through the eyes 
of childhood, and see and feel and love and 
trust again as we did in those early years. Only 
so can we fully understand children. Though 
we may have attained to the full stature of ma¬ 
turity, yet for the children’s sake w r e must be¬ 
come children, that they, through our child¬ 
likeness, may come to maturity. 

Urgency of Child Study. At least two strong 
considerations prompt earnest and thoughtful 

28 


THE STUDY OF THE CHILD 


teachers to know and understand their pupils. 

1. Great interests are at stake. The en¬ 
trance to the pupils’ hearts involves not merely 
worldly success and temporal prosperity, but 
spiritual life and eternal destiny. Who can 
know the value of a soul ? The development of 
soul must proceed according to natural laws. 
These natural laws are God’s ways of work¬ 
ing. To understand God’s plan of human de¬ 
velopment is to qualify us to be co-laborers 
with Him. Failure here must inevitably end 
in spiritual deformation, disease and death. 

2. The time is short. The teacher’s oppor¬ 
tunity is a brief half-hour a week, or, counting 
the average period of attendance for a Sun¬ 
day-school scholar to be fifteen years, thirty 
days for a life-time. A minute unused or mis¬ 
used is criminal prodigality. 

Before taking up the particular study of the 
child, we may proceed in several succeeding 
chapters to a consideration of the mind. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. Methods of scientific study of children. 

2. Child welfare agencies. 

3. Theories of hereditary influence. 

4. Juvenile courts. 

5. The elements entering into environment. » 

29 


Ill 


THE MIND AND ITS ACTIVITIES 

Every individual is a body-mind organism. 
The body through its nervous system reports 
physical changes to the mind. And the mind 
reacting upon and interpreting nervous stim¬ 
ulations, acquires knowledge of the world and 
of itself, and translates mental activity into 
bodily effort. 

The Science of Mind. No one has ever dis¬ 
covered the connection which exists between 
the mind and the body. It is generally ad¬ 
mitted, however, that they are related in some 
intimate and essential manner, and that men¬ 
tal states and bodily action always occur to¬ 
gether. 

No one knows what the substance of the 
mind is. It is believed to be immaterial or 
spiritual, a form of life clothed with all the 
mystery which surrounds any other form of 
life. 

But we do know that the mind operates ac¬ 
cording to definite laws, and is subject, there- 

30 


THE MIND AND ITS ACTIVITIES 


fore, to investigation according to scientific 
principles. The scientific study of the mind, 
together with its states and activities and the 
conditions under which they occur, furnishes 
the subject-matter of mental science or psy¬ 
chology. Mental science undertakes to describe, 
to classify, and to explain mental operations. 

These mental operations are constantly go¬ 
ing on. If we look within ourselves, we dis¬ 
cover these operations, which make up a suc¬ 
cession of ideas, images, pains, pleasures, acts 
of memory and of will. The study of the mind 
may proceed by the observation of one’s own 
mental states and processes, or by the observa¬ 
tion of the acts of others. 

Psychology and Physiology. The mind and 
the body stand in essential relationship. Hence 
psychology is closely related to physiology. 
The physiological connection between the mind 
and the body is the nervous system, which in¬ 
cludes the brain, spinal cord, and the sensory 
and motor mechanism. Fields of conscious¬ 
ness are related to brain states; a state of con¬ 
sciousness accompanies an irritation of the 
nervous tissue; a mental image or act of choice 
follows physical or chemical excitation of the 
sense organs. The study of sense organs, the 

31 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


brain and nervous system, bodily structures 
and functions, sheds important light on the 
performance of mind. 

Care of the Body. The importance of the 
body to mental life is seen in the disturbance 
of consciousness through injury to the brain. 
Impairment of the nervous system results in 
mental disability. It is important for the 
teacher to know that a vigorous, well-nour¬ 
ished brain is a necessary condition for the 
best intellectual activity, the highest feelings, 
and the most energetic action. Weakness of 
body frequently explains poor memory, emo¬ 
tional apathy and feeble purpose. Great al¬ 
lowance must be made for moral weakness on 
the part of children continually tired and un¬ 
derfed. The improvement of their physical 
condition is sometimes the most helpful stim¬ 
ulus to right behavior. The connection between 
mind and body is so intimate that the body 
ought to be cultivated and trained to its high¬ 
est efficiency, for the sake of its connections 
with the soul, whose helpful partner it should 
ever be. Teachers should impress their pupils, 
in the interest of high thinking and strong 
willing, that the body is entitled to care, culti¬ 
vation and the highest respect. And the truth 

32 


THE MIND AND ITS ACTIVITIES 


can not be enforced too strongly that stim¬ 
ulants, narcotics, and excesses of various kinds, 
seriously derange the nervous system, and re¬ 
duce the vitality of the body. Hence they re¬ 
tard brain action and eventually destroy the 
finer sensibilities, and induce mental and moral 
impotence. 

Activities of the Mind. Besides attention, 
which is a general attitude assumed by the 
mind attempting the process of adjustment, 
the mind is capable of three distinct classes of 
activity, called knowing, feeling, and willing. 
The mind exercises itself now in the acquisi¬ 
tion of knowledge, again in emotional states, 
and again in acts of choice. Or, to speak more 
accurately, while one of these activities may at 
any one time predominate, our conscious ex¬ 
perience is a blending of these activities into 
complex states. When we are in a state of ter¬ 
ror, emotion is predominant; in solving a prob¬ 
lem, intellect is predominant. The mind per¬ 
fectly developed in all three activities is rare. 
Most men are in temperament either emo¬ 
tional, intellectual, or strong willed. The feel¬ 
ing activity in a child is preeminent. Intellect 
and will are yet weak and undeveloped. In 
the knowing process, again, the mind is exer- 

33 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


cised in perception, or in recollection, or in im¬ 
agination, or in thought. At one time it is 
keenly active, at another relaxed and passive. 

Activities Interdependent. While these activ¬ 
ities are distinct, they are not independent. We 
love our country (feeling) ; we inform our¬ 
selves regarding her perils (knowing) ; and 
offer our services in her defense (willing). The 
class hear of the sad condition of orphan chil¬ 
dren in India (knowing) ; and they feel an in¬ 
terest in them (feeling) ; and proceed to take 
and send a contribution toward their support 
(willing). One condition of mind passes into 
another; and further, it can be shown that one 
activity always implies the other two. 

The Mind a Unit. While the states of mind 
are various and changeable, the mind itself is 
unity. It has its existence not apart from 
these mental states but in them. The mind is 
not composed of separate parts, organs, or 
functions. It is a single thing always acting 
as a whole. 

Mind and Soul. The terms mind and soul 
are often used interchangeably. It may be bet¬ 
ter, however, to think of the soul as the self 
in the exercise of all its various activities, and 
to restrict the term mind to the self in the ex- 

34 


THE MIND AND ITS ACTIVITIES 


ercise of its knowing power. The work of a 
teacher is not merely the improvement of the 
minds of the pupils, but the enrichment of 
their souls. To teach truly is not only to cause 
to know, but also to cause to feel and to act. 
Character is a condition of the soul. The end 
of teaching is character. Character involves 
not only accurate thinking, but also right feel¬ 
ing and energetic willing. Effective teaching 
moves the heart and soul, and always results 
in right actions. 

Psychology and Education. The study of 
the mind has made an important contribution 
to the science of education. It discovers to us 
the learning process. It finds a scientific basis 
for the art of teaching. A teacher must be a 
thorough student of psychology. He must 
know thoroughly the way by which, and the 
conditions under which, the mind operates in 
the acquisition of knowledge and the appre¬ 
hension of truth. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. The effect of malnutrition on mental activity. 

2. Helen Keller. 

3. The effect of narcotics on the mind. 

4. The contribution of psychology to the science 
of education. 


35 


IV* 


ATTENTION 

Nature of Attention. The materials of our 
conscious life flow in from the outside world. 
Without interruption they sweep over the 
nerves to the central office of the brain. Con¬ 
sciousness, however, admits but few. While 
impressions are received from eye and ear and 
their sister senses, consciousness selects some 
and rejects others. This selective power of the 
mind is attention. While traveling I am ab¬ 
sorbed in an interesting book. Presently I hear 
the rumble of the train; I smell the car smoke; 
I perceive that the car is uncomfortably warm, 
and I feel again the sorrow of separation from 
friends. The sound, the odor, the high tem¬ 
perature, the feeling—all were present while I 
was reading, but I perceived them not until 
the focus of consciousness shifted from my 
book to my surroundings. This selective power 
of mind by which its energy is focused upon 
one object or group of objects is called atten¬ 
tion. 

3G 


ATTENTION 


Varieties of Attention. I continue my jour¬ 
ney in the train and a thunder storm comes up. 
The flash of lightning, the clap of thunder, and 
the ensuing jar assault the mind. I give at¬ 
tention, and I can not do otherwise. This form 
of attention is called involuntary attention. 

Later on in perfect relaxation the appear¬ 
ance of the conductor, the call of the porter, 
the exit of passengers, the sight of the station, 
all successively hold the focus of mind by rea¬ 
son of a natural or acquired interest and with¬ 
out any act or effort of will. Such spontaneous 
attention is known as involuntary. 

Voluntary Attention. At length I produce 
my Bible and proceed to commit to memory a 
Psalm. All sorts of sights and sounds strug¬ 
gle for recognition, but resolutely I put them 
all aside until I can repeat my Psalm. This 
concentration of consciousness under the direc¬ 
tion of the will is voluntary attention. The 
stimulus is internal, supplied from past ex¬ 
perience, and excites the mind to effort by vir- 
ture of its associations, usually social. How 
can the will influence the mind in arousing at¬ 
tention? It would seem that the will deter¬ 
mines the subject upon which the mind shall 
focus. If, however, there is any clear, settled 

37 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


concentration, the subject must develop some 
interest. The student may by act of will focus 
his mind upon his lesson, but once brought to¬ 
gether, if the lesson develops no interest, no 
amount of willing can continue upon it that in¬ 
tensified form of consciousness which we call 
attention. 

Importance of Attention. Attention enters 
into all our mental operations. Attention is 
involved in clear perception, vivid imagina¬ 
tion, distinct feelings and deliberate choice. It 
is an essential condition of all knowledge and 
the varied ability of different persons in ac¬ 
quiring knowledge is usually a difference in 
their power or habit of attention. 

The Attention of Childhood. The attention 
of the child is of the non-voluntary or involun¬ 
tary kind. The will is not in control. He is at 
the mercy of external sights and sounds. 

He attends to the bright object, the loud 
noise, the strange sight. The mind moves 
along the path of least resistance, and centers 
briefly here and there upon things which have 
natural value or intrinsic interest. Such is the 
attention in play. 

A teacher of children may secure attention 
by presenting something which makes a vig- 

38 


ATTENTION 


orous appeal to the eye, such as colored pic- 
tures, drawings, or models; to the ear by 
means of music, or variation of tone; to nat¬ 
ural interest by means of stories with move¬ 
ment and dramatic force. He will assist the 
child’s mind by removing competing objects 
and by housing him in a separate room or a 
curtained corner. And finally he will expect 
prolonged attention. 

Attention and Interest We have seen that 
while the will can bring the mind and an ob¬ 
ject together, unless the mind discovers some 
interest there is no attention. Attention then 
depends upon interest. Interest is the invari¬ 
able medium of attention. What is of the 
greatest interest will command the strictest 
attention. A teacher can command his pupils’ 
attention only as he can stimulate their inter¬ 
est. A superintendent stood before the school 
to review the lesson of the day. He produced 
two apples, one large and fair and the other 
smaller and less attractive, and placed them 
upon the table. Every eye was upon him. 
*‘Which apple, children, do you prefer?” 
“The big one,” unanimously shouted the 
younger classes of the school. ‘ ‘ Children, ’ ’ 
said the superintendent, “things are not al- 

39 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


ways what they seem. Appearances are fre¬ 
quently deceptive! ’ ’ And putting his hand 
upon the apple, large and beautiful in appear¬ 
ance, but which he had previously hollowed out 
into a mere shell, he easily crushed it to the 
table. Surprise and disappointment were vis¬ 
ible upon every face, and through excited in¬ 
terest and consequent large-eyed attention, the 
lesson was never forgotten of the fair exterior 
and the hollow heart. 

How to Excite Interest. The soul as well as 
the body is a living organism. It has in it those 
forces and feelings which are essential to its 
development. There is a hunger of the soul 
as well as a hunger of the body. This feeling 
of soul-hunger is interest. Just as the sight of 
tempting food or the odor of a savory dish ex¬ 
cites the appetite, so the skilful presentation 
of suitable materials will stimulate the mental 
appetite. This feeling of hunger, or appetite, 
is an attitude of the soul which undoubtedly 
characterizes every individual. The teacher 
can count on its presence in every boy and girl, 
and should make it his business to discover 
what subjects excite this feeling, or in other 
words, where his interests lie. Study carefully 
the individuals of your class and you will find 

40 


ATTENTION 


that each one, though shy and backward, will 
manifest this feeling of satisfaction when that 
subject is presented which is appropriate to his 
powers of mastication and assimilation. 

To appeal intelligently to the pupil and ex¬ 
cite his interest the subject must show some 
point of connection with something in the pu¬ 
pil’s personal experience. It should offer 
some familiar features. The totally new makes 
no impression, finds no entrance. We are 
always eager to hear some allusion to our own 
state, or town, occupation, or favorite author. 
On the other hand, what is too familiar and 
simple can not create interest. The mind en¬ 
joys the prospect of advancing knowledge. The 
old is necessary for development, the new for 
growth. Carefully graded instruction, suited 
to the pupil’s age and condition of life will 
never fail to interest. If the lessons are so de¬ 
veloped that the pupils are constantly chal¬ 
lenged to successful effort, and the truth un¬ 
folded is a succession of surprises, the lesson 
will be a delight for teacher and learner. The 
mind enjoys exercise and achievement. Inter¬ 
est is manifested as long as there is actual ac¬ 
complishment. 

Interest and Adaptation. The great secret 

41 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


of interest is adaptation. The subject must 
bear a close relation to the pupils’ doing and 
thinking. The teacher, to be interesting, must 
know the contents of the pupils’ minds, their 
stock of ideas and capacities. What he says 
and does must touch the pupil where he is. For 
most children the Sunday-school has been too 
theological, too abstract, too adult. We must 
reach down to the children before they can 
reach up to us. Unless we actually reach them, 
we shall not stimulate a feeling of interest. 
Without interest there can be no attention. 
Without attention no lesson of truth, no put¬ 
ting forth of life, no power of purpose, no 
strength of character. 

Interest and Accomplishment. Interest is 
not merely to amuse. It is to assist the pupil 
in the gratification of a powerful instinct, the 
instinct of curiosity. Curiosity is another 
name for soul appetite, the strong desire to 
know, to feel, to act. The satisfaction of this 
desire is attended by a pleasurable feeling. It 
is experienced in connection with all the vari¬ 
ous forms of mental activity. There is actual 
pleasure in seeing, imagining, remembering 
and willing. It is peculiarly present in the 
consciousness of overcoming difficulties, solving 

42 


ATTENTION 


hard problems and discovering hidden truth. 
This, once felt, will constitute fresh starting- 
points of interest. A teacher who does not 
cause in the minds of the pupils any mental 
activity; who does not direct them to the dis¬ 
covery of new truth, or to the accomplishment 
of some worthy intellectual or moral attain¬ 
ment, can never succeed. The class hour 
should be the teacher’s opportunity for a 
trumpet call to achievement. If he knows how 
to get the class to work, the harder the better, 
he will never fail to have interest and atten¬ 
tion. 

Interest and Social Environment. As the 

social nature develops, the individual faces 
larger and more remote ends which involve 
unpleasant and sustained effort. Attention 
now becomes of the voluntary kind; but it is no 
less dependent upon interest. One attends to 
the unpleasant means to achieve the interest¬ 
ing end. The value of this end is usually en¬ 
forced by the social group of which he is a 
part. The ideals set up, the pressure applied, 
the approval desired, in the community or the 
school or the class, are powerful incentives to 
a sustained interest. The responsibility to the 
group, and associated effort in the group may 

43 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


be depended upon to maintain interest and at¬ 
tention. The delegation of suitable responsi¬ 
bilities and cooperative tasks in connection 
with the work of the Sunday-school sometimes 
succeeds when other methods fail. 

An Illustration. One vacation a father took 
his son of eight years to a well known Chautau¬ 
qua. The daily program furnished a variety 
of entertainment and instruction. One day a 
children’s Bible class was announced to meet 
daily for a week. At the appointed hour the 
father urged the boy to go. The boy demurred. 
He said that he had not come to attend Sun¬ 
day-school. The shady grove, the lake with its 
bathing and boats were strong counter attrac¬ 
tions. But the father insisted, and the boy 
with leaden feet and tearful eyes made his way 
to the pavilion. The leader understood both 
the Bible and boys. He furnished each one 
with a Bible, a sheet of paper and a pencil, and 
for an hour there was such a combination of 
wise questioning, skilful illustration, judicious 
drill and helpful suggestions concerning the 
use of their text-book and the recording of re¬ 
sults, that the story of Gideon and his men was 
thoroughly mastered. He explained the sub¬ 
ject for the next day, gave printed questions 

44 


ATTENTION 


to be filled out in part in home study, and pre¬ 
sented each with a kodak picture of Gideon’s 
spring taken by a friend. It was over all too 
soon, and the boy, all enthusiastic over the Bi¬ 
ble study, said on the way back to the cottage, 
* * I did not know it would be like that; I want 
to go every time.” And the father, thinking 
of the sins committed in the name of teaching 
everywhere, and the pedagogical sinners who 
stifle the inborn craving for knowledge of God 
and His Word with methods devitalizing and 
inhumane, breathed upward a fervent prayer, 
‘ ‘ Father, forgive us; we know not what we do. ’ ’ 
Natural and Artificial Interest. The inter¬ 
est that arises in the contemplation of the 
thing that feeds the mind and enriches the soul 
is natural interest. It may with children be an 
object, or with adults an idea or subject that 
has various connections. This sort of interest 
is legitimate and wholesome. Artificial inter¬ 
est is that aroused by indirect means, such as 
prizes and rewards, which are arbitrarily con¬ 
nected with the things in which interest is de¬ 
sired. Rewards in which all share may be 
proper. To secure the reward the pupil may 
seek information about the subject, and thus 
may develop a perfectly healthy and natural 

45 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


interest. At best, however, such devices are 
of doubtful value. They frequently lead to 
unseemly rivalry, stimulate the baser feelings, 
and make more difficult natural interest. The 
better teacher resorts to artificial interest rare¬ 
ly if at all. The real satisfaction of the hunger 
of the soul is its own best reward and incentive 
to effort. 

Sympathetic Interest. Interest is essentially 
feeling. Feeling is contagious. Cheerfulness 
expressed tends to make others cheerful. The 
enthusiasm of the teacher is communicated to 
the class. Genuine interest always spreads. 
This interest of the teacher must be real. Any 
feigning of interest is dishonest, and will de¬ 
ceive no one long. The interest in the class 
can rise no higher than that of the teacher. 
He can gain this enthusiastic interest by a 
fresh knowledge of his subject, and by a con¬ 
viction of the importance and dignity of the 
work. Attention naturally follows when en¬ 
thusiastic interest overflows into the souls of 
others. 

Expectant Attention. This is a reaching 
forward of the mind to the coming event. It is 
an attitude of watching for more. Continuous 
voluntary attention depends upon this feeling 

46 


ATTENTION 


of expectancy. This is secured by a gradual 
unfolding of the lesson so that each step points 
the way for the next, or by various methods 
which furnish a succession of pleasant sur¬ 
prises. The subject in hand will drift every 
few moments out of the focus of consciousness. 
The teacher must bring it back again and 
again, by illustration, discussion, quotation, 
and drill. There will be progress in the devel¬ 
opment of the subject, novelty in the treat¬ 
ment of it, and resourcefulness in the fields of 
history, poetry, science, art, and personal ex¬ 
perience, in its correlation and illustration. 

Inattention implies a competitor. It is a 
challenge to combat, not with the pupil but 
with the rival interest. It is a demand to say 
something worth while, to create a stimulating 
social environment, to find the point of contact 
between the truth and personality of the 
teacher and the child or youth. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. What is personality? 

2. How Paul secured attention in Athens. 

3. How Jesus secured attention. 

4. The doctrine of interest in education. 

5. The point of contact in teaching. 


47 


V 


ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE 

As the work of the teacher is commonly 
understood to be that of directing the student 
in the acquisition of knowledge, it may be well 
to inquire what knowledge is and how it is ac¬ 
quired. 

Knowledge and Life. A most important con¬ 
sideration for every individual is to become ac¬ 
quainted with the facts of the world into which 
he is born. These facts are many, such as the 
earth, soil, stones, animals, seasons and persons. 
Adjustment to this environment of facts is nec¬ 
essary to life. He must know how to use those 
that are helpful and to avoid such as are harm¬ 
ful. Knowledge, therefore, is a matter of fore¬ 
most importance, if he is to survive. 

Knowledge and Facts. As the mind comes 
into contact with facts, knowledge arises. 
Knowledge, however, is not given by the facts. 
It is not merely an impression of things upon 
the mind. It is not correct to say that the mind 
is a sensitive plate and records pictures of 

48 


ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE 


things which are presented to one in life or in 
description. Knowledge is not a photograph. 

Knowledge arises in the mind in the process 
of experience. Some facts exist that have no 
significance for us, and hence do not exist so 
far as we are concerned. We do not know 
them. Facts are necessary to knowledge as 
materials for experience. In experience man 
develops for himself, in his mind, a tool with 
which to meet his needs, and this tool we call 
knowledge. 

The Place of the Teacher. It is clear from 
the foregoing that it is not the task of the 
teacher to impart knowledge. Knowledge is 
not given out as a commodity. Telling is not 
teaching. 

The teacher may be sure that the mind of 
the pupil will in its experience with facts re¬ 
act upon these facts. The teacher supplies an 
environment and the pupil will make his own 
knowledge. He will provide such conditions 
as will require the pupil to use his mind in 
ways that seem to meet some need. The mind 
is like the plant. It feeds upon its environ¬ 
ment. The gardener provides soil and sunshine 
and water for the plant, and it feeds and 
grows by force of its own nature. So the 

49 


THE PUPIL AND IIOW TO TEACH HIM 


teacher directs the pupil to the facts, and sug¬ 
gests methods of dealing with them, and trusts 
the results to him and his mind. 

The Nervous System. The nervous system 
assumes large importance as the meeting place 
between the external world of facts and the 
knowing mind. It is composed of sensitive 
cell-bodies varying from a fraction of an inch 
to a yard in length. The gross structures of 
the nervous system are the brain with its sev¬ 
eral parts, the spinal cord, the sensory nerves 
connecting the brain with the sense organs, 
and the motor nerves connecting the brain 
with the muscles. The sensory nerves at the 
surface of the body are known as end organs 
or senses. Without the senses there could be 
no contact with the outside world, and hence 
no knowledge. 

The Senses. The special senses, arranged in 
the order of their value for knowledge, are 
sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. These 
various sense organs are remarkable contriv¬ 
ances, sensitive to energy under its different 
manifestations. Objects coming within range 
of the sense organs produce in them a nervous 
stimulation which is communicated along the 
nerves to the brain. This nervous excitement 

50 


ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE 


makes an impression upon the brain which in 
some mysterious manner calls forth a response 
in the mind. This response or reaction is 
termed a sensation, and is the simplest element 
or experience of mental life. 

Sensations and Percepts. The nervous mech¬ 
anism is a wonderful system of communication 
between the outside world and the mind. Re¬ 
ports from the outside world are going in 
night and day. These reports or impressions 
reaching the brain are not only reacted upon 
by the mind but also interpreted. The mind 
reads meaning into the sensation, and refers it 
outward to some object. This interpretation 
by the mind of sense impressions is called per¬ 
ception, and the products of this act are called 
percepts. We notice, therefore, that sensation 
is a passive state, while perception is largely 
an active one. Sensation supplies materials in 
the form of sense feelings; perception works 
up these materials into an orderly world. 
Every individual in an important sense cre¬ 
ates his own world by the way he interprets 
and refers his sensations. He creates not only 
his external world of objects, but his intellec¬ 
tual and moral world as well. It is the rare 
privilege of the teacher to assist the pupil to 

51 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


interpret his sensations, and so help him to 
create the right kind of world. The world 
must be made of the materials which enter in 
through sensation and perception. Rightly to 
guard in sensation and to guide in perception 
should be the aspiration of every teacher, that 
his pupils may create a world for themselves 
which will yield the richest satisfaction for 
this life and the life to come. 

Importance of the Senses. Our world then, 
whatever it may be, is constituted of organized 
sensations. They are the ultimate facts of 
mental life. They are the foundation stones in 
the structure of knowledge, or rather the ma¬ 
terials out of which it is built. The training 
of the senses, therefore, assumes a real impor¬ 
tance. If sensations are scanty, vague and in¬ 
definite, the structure of knowledge will be 
vague, without beauty or order. It has been 
said that “ there is nothing in the mind that 
is not first in the senses.” And certainly ac¬ 
curate memory, vivid imagination, clear think¬ 
ing, are all conditioned upon rich sensations 
and clear perceptions. 

The mental life of children is largely an ac¬ 
cumulation of materials. They are concerned 
with building up an objective world for them- 

52 


ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE 


selves. Their normal mental activity is in the 
region of sensation and perception. The first 
work of the teacher of young children is the 
proper training of the senses. This training 
develops the powers of observation and brings 
a richer and clearer body of materials to fur¬ 
nish the mind and beautify the soul. 

The Training of the Senses. Senses are 
trained by coming into contact with objects. 
A description of nature, however eloquent, 
will make small impression upon the child’s 
mind. Memorizing dead facts regarding things 
and places will awaken no vitalizing sensations. 
But in the companionship of a true teacher 
and under his guidance, to look upon the im¬ 
agery of cloud and the splendor of the sunset, 
to wander through field and forest and listen 
to the symphony of myriad-voiced nature, to 
smell the woodland, and feel and handle and 
touch, is to train the senses to observe and 
identify, and make them accurate and delicate 
for any demand of practical life or general 
culture. In this manner the parable of the 
sower of the soils could be taught in some 
planted field, the children handling some seed 
and sowing it broadcast; the ark of the cove¬ 
nant could be taught from a model or draw- 

53 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


ing in right proportions; and the altar of in¬ 
cense could be made real and suggestive with 
a few coals and a bit of spice or aromatic gum. 
Reach ‘ ‘ Man-soul 9 9 through as many of the five 
gates as possible. Exercise the senses by di¬ 
recting the spontaneous energy, and the senses 
quickened by exercise will naturally and inevi¬ 
tably contribute the materials for distinct men¬ 
tal pictures and clear ideas which will be the 
enduring possession of the mind and heart. 

Summary. The factors involved in the get¬ 
ting of knowledge may be summed up as fol¬ 
lows : 

1. A world of facts, available for observa¬ 
tion. 

2. Sense organs, affected by objects in char¬ 
acteristic ways, and occasioning sensations 
which constitute the materials of knowledge. 

3. A reacting and interpreting mind which 
constructs objects and refers them in space and 
time. 

4. A recognized need, involving for the self 
a material or social adjustment. 

5. A directing teacher who suggests the 
need and the method of adjustment. 

Knowing and Doing. The nervous system 
may be regarded as a unit, and in acquiring 

54 


ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE 

knowledge the motor nerves and muscles are 
employed as well as the sensory nerves. That 
means that doing is essential to knowing. 
Knowledge of physical well-being, mechanic 
arts, and fine arts, comes with practise in the 
gymnasium, in the manual training laboratory, 
and in the music and art studios. And it can 
be shown that all kinds of knowledge is condi¬ 
tioned by a doing of some kind on the part of 
the learner. Here is found the basis for the 
various kinds of hand work in the Sunday- 
school. And the real understanding of any 
truth must be accompanied by its practise in 
actual effort or in vital purpose. This funda¬ 
mental principle of knowledge-getting is ex¬ 
pressed in the words of the Master Teacher, 
‘ ‘ If any man will do His will, he shall know of 
the doctrine.” 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. How we know. 

2. The contribution of Pestalozzi to the science 
of teaching. 

3. The relation of perception to character. Haw¬ 
thorne’s “The Great Stone Face.” 

4. The training of the senses in perception. Color 
experts. Tea tasters. Touch of blind persons. 

5. Knowledge through travel. 

55 


VI 


MEMORY 

With perception as the first stage of knowl¬ 
edge we proceed in this and successive chap¬ 
ters to consider memory, imagination, and 
thought. 

Mental Images. As I close my eyes there ap¬ 
pear in my mind images of objects familiar to 
me in boyhood days. Several years have 
passed since I actually saw them, but pictures 
of the old home, with the great overspreading 
elm, the barn and orchard near-by, the little 
white schoolhouse down the road, and the 
woods and hills farther on, all revive before 
me, and I live again in the world of yesterday. 
Soon these scenes fade and other views—the 
old church, the cemetery—and dim likenesses 
of old friends, take their place. The mind is a 
picture gallery, or a panorama of the past. 

Memory. This power of image-making is a 
most significant function. To it are closely re¬ 
lated memory, imagination and also thought. 

In the presence of an object, in the act of 

56 


MEMORY 


perception or observation one forms a percept. 
When the object is removed there is a picture 
of the object or image. Image has been defined 
as the form in which the percept appears after 
the object is removed. As compared with the 
percept the image is less vivid, less definite 
and less enduring. 

Every clear percept has its image somewhere 
in the mind. In our mental experience the 
images recur, and give place one to another in 
our attention. An image may be absent from 
consciousness for a day or a year, but it may 
be recalled and made the object of attention. 
The power by which the mind retains and re¬ 
calls its images connected with past experi¬ 
ences is memory. 

Importance of Memory. While perception 
is the great source of knowledge, perception is 
always in the present. To live constantly in 
the present instant would be to live by impulse 
and instinct. We should be helpless and worth¬ 
less creatures of the moment. But the human 
mind has been given the power to reach both 
ways from this present moment—backward by 
the memory into a broad expanse of time which 
we call the past, and forward through the im¬ 
agination almost without limit into what we 

57 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


name the future. How one lives in the pres¬ 
ent, or how he plans to live in the future, de¬ 
pends almost altogether on his memory of the 
past. By this wonderful power of the mind 
the teacher can take important truths and 
principles and make them a part of this con¬ 
trolling past. 

Retention. Memory has been defined as the 
activity of the mind in retaining and reviving 
its percepts or sense impressions. It is a re¬ 
vival of a past experience after it has once 
dropped from consciousness. The mind is 
larger than consciousness. Psychologists speak 
of sub-consciousness as a region of the mind 
into which our images or ideas sink and are re¬ 
tained. Just how they are retained we do not 
know, but they leave such traces of themselves 
in the ever-changing organization of the mind 
that when an element of our previous experi¬ 
ence comes into consciousness we recognize it. 
Some think that every experience is retained. 
Others believe that many disappear forever. 
But much more than we think is permanently 
hidden deep in the recesses of the mind and 
only needs the appropriate association or 
stimulus to bring it forth. As a matter of fact, 
long lost incidents occasionally revive in the 

58 


MEMORY 


mind with startling freshness and power, some 
to our dismay and others to our delight. 

Conditions of Retention. Of the processes 
involved in memory, we may consider reten¬ 
tion and recall. The retention of images as¬ 
sociated with experiences depends upon a 
strong original impression. The strength of 
impression is due to: 

1. Attention. Experiences involving atten¬ 
tion of the involuntary kind, such as bright 
colors, loud sound and pungent odors, produce 
retentive images. Objects or ideas of absorb¬ 
ing interest hold fast the attention and thus 
deepen the impression. 

2. Vividness. Living things, moving ob¬ 
jects, vivid descriptions, colorful word paint¬ 
ing, dramatic presentation, are likely to make 
strong impression. 

3. Repetition. The more frequently our 
impression is repeated the more enduring will 
be the image. The most of our mental images 
are of things we have frequently seen, or of 
events which have repeatedly occurred in our 
experience. In our emphasis of the importance 
of interest, we should not depreciate the value 
of drills and reviews. 

4. Emotional Association. If an occurrence 

59 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


is accompanied by strong feeling, the impres¬ 
sion is deeper and the images more resistent in 
the mind. The events of early childhood are 
permanent possessions because the experiences 
of that kind are commonly accompanied by 
such feelings as wonder, delight and awe. One 
reading was sufficient to retain considerable 
sections of the book of Revelation, in the case 
of a child whose wonder was greatly excited by 
the descriptions of strange beasts and unusual 
situations. The emotion of pity aroused in 
the recital of the life of Joseph makes the de¬ 
tails of the story the abiding possession of the 
mind. It is doubtless due to the element of 
feeling that rhythmic exercises persist in the 
mind. If pleasurable feelings can be awakened 
in the study of truth, the chances of its lasting 
retention are many-fold increased. 

Recollection. To recall is given the name 
recollection, which is the process of bringing 
back to consciousness the ideas once there. The 
laws which govern in recollection are the laws 
of association. It seems that no idea or fact 
of knowledge can exist in the mind in isola¬ 
tion. It must exist in conjunction with other 
ideas. The presence of one idea in the mind 
calls up others connected with it. The book on 

60 


MEMORY 


the table recalls the friends who gave it to me. 
Each friend in turn is associated with various 
experiences and events. Reverie or day-dream¬ 
ing reveals how images or ideas are associated 
in trains of thought. Each idea has various 
associates. To recall an idea one must have one 
of these associates. This may be suggested by 
the preceding associate or a sensation. 

The various kinds of association are: 

1. Association by contiguity: I see a man 
and recall the place where I first met him, the 
post-office. The thought of Chattanooga brings 
up Lookout Mountain; New York the Brooklyn 
Bridge, Palestine the Dead Sea. Things that 
lie near each other in space are easily associ¬ 
ated. Events that occur near together in time 
are connected. When one is recalled the other 
appears in consciousness. 

2. By Similarity. The thought of New York 
may suggest also London. The Dead Sea may 
recall Great Salt Lake, Palestine New Hamp¬ 
shire, the statesmanship of Gladstone the 
statesmanship of Isaiah. Association by sim¬ 
ilarity brings experiences together which are 
far apart in space and time. Association by 
contiguity is more mechanical than association 
by resemblance. By the application of the lat- 

C1 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


ter principle classifications are made and gen¬ 
eral ideas are formed which are of great ser¬ 
vice to mental economy. Great groups of re¬ 
lated material may be thus connected. The 
teacher out of a thorough preparation can es¬ 
tablish these relations of similarity so that the 
great facts of Biblical history, literature and 
experience may be not only in the mind, but 
may when bidden appear in consciousness and 
be at our service. 

3. By Contrast. An impression, object, or 
event generally suggests the image of its oppo¬ 
site. Light suggests darkness, weakness sug¬ 
gests strength. The reign of David is associ¬ 
ated with the reign of Saul by the principle of 
contiguity; the character of David is associ¬ 
ated with the character of Saul by the princi¬ 
ple of contrast. We may point out that Moses 
was great in his ability to conceive and inaug¬ 
urate, Joshua in his power to execute, that 
Isaiah found his sphere as a court preacher, 
Jonah as an itinerant evangelist. The boast¬ 
ful words of Nebuchadnezzar, “Is not this 
great Babylon that I have built by the might 
of my power and for the honor of my maj¬ 
esty ?” recall his real weakness and ensuing 
abasement. The emphasis which Amos puts 

62 


MEMORY 


upon divine justice suggests Hosea’s emphasis 
upon divine love. 

These are the laws of association upon which 
recollection depends. In so far as so-called 
memory systems employ these fundamental 
principles of association they are useful; in 
imposing upon the mind connections which are 
arbitrary, mechanical or artificial, they are pos¬ 
itively injurious. 

In addition to association as a factor of effi¬ 
cient recall the attitude of the individual 
might be mentioned. The preacher, the law¬ 
yer, the doctor, will recall from an address or 
a book according to his attitude growing out of 
his relation to the address or book as a profes¬ 
sional man. Facts and arguments are more 
easily recalled if they support a cause in which 
we are much interested. The merchant will re¬ 
call market quotations accurately and easily. 
The problem of the teacher has ever been to 
establish attitudes, or where they are already 
established to take advantage of them. 

Teaching Suggestions. There is a great dif¬ 
ference in memory capacity. It is explained 
largely in the difference of recording and cor¬ 
relating the facts. Poor memory is frequently 
a result of poor teaching. A teacher will find 

63 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


that good memory and effective recall will de¬ 
pend upon the following: 

1. Clear perception. What is imperfectly 
apprehended can not be accurately recalled. 
Help your pupils to observe closely, read care¬ 
fully, note and record accurately. Cultivate 
clearness and conciseness in the presentation. 
Avoid vague, hazy, general statement. Teach 
children how to study, and in assigning a les¬ 
son, point out what is especially important. 

2. Living interest. Use objects and illustra¬ 
tions plentifully. Employ a lively, interested 
manner in teaching. Interest your pupils and 
they will remember you and what you teach. 

3. Visualizing power. This is the power by 
which the visual image of an object or an oc¬ 
currence is retained in the mind in all its de¬ 
tails. It is the ability to see things when they 
are absent. Some possess this power to a high 
degree. They retain the visual image of a 
paragraph or a page, and to repeat it is only a 
matter of re-reading the words of the mental 
picture. Help the pupils to dwell upon the de¬ 
tails of the Bible scenes and stories until the 
mental picture is so full of color and life that 
they seem almost a part of their actual experi¬ 
ence. 

04 


MEMORY 


4. Repetition. Intensify the image, deepen 
the impression of the most important items by 
intelligent repetition. The periods in the life 
of Christ and the leading events in each period 
must be drilled into the mind to render them 
permanently useful elements of knowledge. 
The repetition that is associated with rhythm is 
very pleasing to children. Rhythm is a fun¬ 
damental law of expression, and is particu¬ 
larly the language of emotion. Even where 
the meaning is little comprehended children 
readily learn by repetition what is expressed 
in rhythmical form—poetry and song. 

5. Correlation. Associate the new fact with 
others. Employ the principle of association by 
similarity as far as possible. Establish thought- 
connections between it and other knowledge. 
This requires reflection and real effort. Em¬ 
phasize relations and organize all new mate¬ 
rial. Knit the new fact into the fabric of 
knowledge. Seek continually in lesson prep¬ 
aration for natural lines of association of ideas. 

To insure right memory habits do not at¬ 
tempt too much. Memory work requires time. 
Overloading the memory with facts without 
taking suitable time to correlate them is to 
abuse the memory. A careful observance of 

65 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


God’s laws of memory, which are written in 
the mind of every person, will make teaching 
a delight, and pupils with full and ready 
minds will rise up and call you blessed. 

The Memory Period. It is a matter of ob¬ 
servation that mental powers mature in succes¬ 
sion. The memory period is between the ages 
of six and twelve. The senses are very active, 
the feelings strong. Impressions are deep and 
while the child makes little effort to classify 
his experiences, and the law of association by 
similarity operates but slightly, association by 
contiguity is all-important. During this period 
the possibilities of verbal memory are great. 
Whole chapters are learned with little effort. 
What would be a heroic task for the adult, to 
whom the laws of similarity appeal so strongly 
and whose mental processes are largely ra¬ 
tional, is an easy matter for the child. This is 
the period when vocabularies, simple defini¬ 
tion, leading data in geography, and focal dates 
in history and choice selections from the best 
literature, should be permanently lodged in the 
mind. These things may be learned by heart 
if only imperfectly understood. It is foolish 
to say that nothing should be learned which is 
not fully apprehended. Hang the pictures on 

66 


MEMORY 


the wall when they may be had for the ask¬ 
ing. There will be opportunity to know their 
rich, full meaning in the strength of later un¬ 
folding mental processes when the mind deals 
them out to us more sparingly and at great 
price. The parent and Sunday-school teacher 
may wisely cooperate in storing the child-mind 
with suitable passages from the Bible and the 
great hymns of the church. This material care¬ 
fully graded and explained will find easy lodg¬ 
ment in the mind, constituting in after years 
a source of power for service, and a comfort 
and delight in the days, and perchance the 
ages, yet to come. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. The uses of reviews. 

2. Concentration and remembering. 

3. The value of cramming. 

4. Memory systems. 

5. Doing and remembering. James 1: 23-25. 


67 


VII 


IMAGINATION 

It has been observed that with every real 
act of perception a mental image is formed. 
This image may be visual, auditory, tactual, 
gustatory, or olfactory. The part these images 
play in memory has been noted in the last 
chapter. They play another part which in 
popular language is known as imagination. 

Memory and Imagination. Memory repro¬ 
duces the past just as it occurred. All the ele¬ 
ments of each experience are recalled in their 
original relations. To live in memory is to live 
in the past, to live forever as we have lived. 
But imagination introduces us to a new world. 
It reaches forward into the future and antici¬ 
pates new experiences. It is that power of the 
mind to select of the things of memory such 
elements as we prefer and to combine them 
into new forms of thought. We may neglect 
any undesirable features of our experiences 
and choose the brightest and best for a new 
formation unlike any which we have actually 

G8 


IMAGINATION 


known. This power is inseparably connected 
with progress and is perhaps the most fertile 
power of the mind. 

Constructive Imagination. The picturing 
power of the mind, as we know it in memory is 
called reproductive imagination. This power, 
as we have seen, is an aid to effective recall. It 
makes the past real and vivid and is of great 
assistance to the teacher in description and il¬ 
lustration. But imagination as generally un¬ 
derstood is constructive. It goes beyond ex¬ 
perience, and pictures a coming event or a 
place we have never seen. It modifies and 
transforms our memory images. It frees them 
from the objects with which they were orig¬ 
inally associated, and builds them up into new 
mental products. New knowledge grows by 
the exercise of this faculty. Every one uses it 
daily, whether in an artistic sense, or other¬ 
wise. A homesteader looks out upon the 
prairie, and builds up a picture of house and 
barn and growing crops. The student pictures 
a future school in which he shall be a teacher, 
or it may be, a state-house in which he ad¬ 
ministers the affairs of government, or a grand 
army of which he is the general. The girl pic¬ 
tures a cozy cottage of which she shall be the 

G9 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


mistress, and furnishes it and adorns it to the 
last detail. The architect has visions of houses 
different from those he has ever built. Con¬ 
structive imagination is the great faculty of 
progress. Its object is something new and bet¬ 
ter. 

Creative Imagination. Occasionally one is 
found who makes new combinations with rare 
insight. He combines elements into forms 
which are of great significance. Such imagina¬ 
tion is called creative. It may be scientific and 
the resulting product a steam-engine or a neb¬ 
ular hypothesis. It may be artistic, and there 
steps forth from the marble an Apollo Belvi- 
dere, or appears beneath the brush a Sistine 
Madonna. Or it may be literary or musical, 
and a Shakespeare and a Mendelssohn embody 
creations which enchant and delight for all 
time. But in the strict sense no imagination 
can be creative. It can only combine the old 
elements into new forms, old materials into 
new constructions. 

Imagination and Ideals. It will thus be seen 
that imagination is involved in the formation 
of ideals. Every inventor, sculptor, poet and 
artist, selects from the materials with which lie 
is acquainted those elements which will com- 

70 


IMAGINATION 


bine into forms of ideal worth. Sir Chris¬ 
topher Wren had such an ideal in the design¬ 
ing and construction of buildings, and it found 
expression in St. Paul’s Cathedral. Beethoven 
had such an ideal of harmony and musical 
composition, which found expression in his 
matchless symphonies and overtures. In the 
activity of our imagination we are constantly 
forming ideals—ideals of location, beauty, hap¬ 
piness, faith, character. Out of these ideals 
we may constitute a world far richer and more 
beautiful than the world we actually know. If 
our ideal world is beautiful for us only, it has 
no permanent value. Only as it appeals to 
others can it be influential and abiding. There 
are ideals which are universal in their appeal. 
These are eternal. Blest indeed is he whose 
soul is furnished with those experiences and 
materials out of which he can build up ideals 
of permanent value and eternal worth. 

Conscience. It is interesting to see the rela¬ 
tion of conscience to the imagination. Along 
with other ideals the imagination creates ideals 
of conduct and character. After an ideal is 
formed it exercises a peculiar influence upon 
us. While we are affected by any ideal we may 
form, our moral ideals affect us most power- 

71 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


fully. We desire to realize them. We long to 
be all that we feel we may be. We judge our 
every act. If our act is in harmony with our 
moral ideal we approve it and experience the 
feeling of pleasure that accompanies satisfied 
aspiration. If we judge our act to be contrary 
to our ideal, we condemn it, and ourselves in 
the doing of it. The clearness with which con¬ 
science speaks to us depends upon the definite¬ 
ness of our ideals. Without ideals of faith, pa¬ 
tience, righteousness, and moral heroism, there 
can be no conscience and no call to duty. 
With changing experience our ideals sometimes 
change. The enrichment of ideals of conduct 
and character modifies the testimony of moral 
judgment, and involves what we mean by the 
education of the conscience. 

Fancy. This imaginative activity may issue 
in grotesque and absolutely unreal and unat¬ 
tractive forms. This is called phantasy or 
fancy. The child is particularly fond of this 
mental exercise. He builds up in his mind im¬ 
possible forms and products. It is his first con¬ 
structive effort, and it affords him all the ex¬ 
hilaration of genuine achievement. This is 
the fairy-tale stage. The child delights in his 
first experience of putting things together. It 

72 


IMAGINATION 


should be wisely encouraged and directed. A 
reasonable amount of myth and legend and 
fairy stories will develop the creative impulse, 
and give it a set and bent which will be of 
great advantage later on when the will takes 
full control. If unnourished the imaginative 
instinct will shrivel and die, and no amount of 
later coaxing will compensate for the early 
neglect. These fanciful creations may seem to 
the child wonderfully real. His limited ex¬ 
perience furnishes him with too small a basis 
for accurate criticism. The boundary between 
the real and the ideal is vague and shadowy. 
He reports as actual what exists only in his im¬ 
agination. He does not intend to tell a false¬ 
hood. 

Parent and teacher must here guide wisely. 
The skilful teacher will study to know how to 
combine imaginative materials with facts and 
realities so that the growing mind may con¬ 
tinue to delight in mental creations, and at the 
same time cultivate an increasing reverence for 
the truth. Truth is correspondence to reality. 
Truth is more real if fact has a background of 
fancy. The teacher can be of real service to 
the child during the period of maturing fancy. 
Under his wise guidance the exuberance of 

73 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


the impulse of phantasy will yield to the full 
control of the will, and the constructive ener¬ 
gies of the child will later bring forth abun¬ 
dant fruitage in scientific, literary, artistic or 
practical products, the real will separate from 
the unreal, and there will arise a love of the 
real and a passion for the truth. 

Imagination and Feeling. Imagination is 
stimulated and directed by feeling. A feeling 
of fear makes us imagine situations of terror. 
The emotion of love prompts the mother to im¬ 
agine her son in places of honor and power. 
The feeling of appreciation of beauty directs 
the mind of the poet in the production of 
beautiful thought-forms. Since the imagina¬ 
tion depends so largely upon our feelings, the 
education of our feelings or emotions becomes 
a matter of transcendent importance. Feeling 
is contagious. The teacher must be one who is 
capable of right feeling as well as accurate 
thinking. 

Imagination and Will. While imagination 
takes its root in feeling, the more important 
products of mental effort are the result of the 
conscious exercise of the will. The imagination 
unrestrained issues in day-dreams and air-cas¬ 
tles. This is a common form of mental dissipa- 

74 


IMAGINATION 


tion. The temptation is to live in a realm of 
romance, in a world in which the sterner as¬ 
pects of toil and duty are absent. But the will 
holds the imagination to progress toward some 
desired result. The great task of the teacher 
at this point is not only to stimulate the imag¬ 
ination, but also to develop and direct the will. 
He may portray before the class conditions of 
squalor in a neglected district and thus excite 
feelings of sympathy and pity for the unfor¬ 
tunate, and then suggest the propriety of some 
constructive plan for their relief. 

Imagination and Action. It is highly impor¬ 
tant that children be taught to realize the con¬ 
sequences of their conduct and so avoid rash 
and hasty actions. Children frequently excuse 
themselves for some misdemeanor by saying, 
‘‘I didn’t think.” This usually means that 
they did not have a clear image of the results 
of their action. If you can help your pupils 
to form the habit of picturing clearly and fully 
the probable consequences of their actions, you 
will strengthen their will and enable them to 
exercise it firmly and intelligently. It is the 
images which we carry with us that affect our 
conduct. Punishment by dermal pain may 
here find justification. A quickly arising im- 

75 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


age of a sad ordeal may help ‘ ‘ to think. ’ ’ Some 
criminologists defend hanging as a penalty for 
murder, because the spectacular death upon 
the gallows is more easily imaged in all its 
frightfulness than imprisonment for life. And 
the terrible picture rising up in the moment 
of temptation becomes a strong deterrent influ¬ 
ence. 

The products of the imagination are not to 
be regarded as an end in themselves. Pleasant 
as the exercise of the imagination may be, it 
must not terminate upon itself. A failure to 
reduce mental forms to actual constructions 
will eventually result in making one all that is 
implied in the word impractical and visionary. 
A failure to realize or approximate the moral 
ideals which the imagination sets up before the 
mind will leave one characterless and weak, 
and result in a moral paralysis from which 
there is no escape. Moral ideals and action can 
never be dissociated without consequent for¬ 
malism and hypocrisy. 

Training of the Imagination. Children are 
thought to be very imaginative because of the 
boldness of their imagery. Fancy is strong. 
The transformations are extravagant and pro¬ 
duced under the excitement of the feeling of 

76 


IMAGINATION 


wonder. The progress of experience and 
growth of knowledge tend to bring the imag¬ 
ination under the control of the will. The nat¬ 
ural craving that children have for stories 
points the way for the training of the picture¬ 
forming faculty. Give them stories of real life, 
narratives of the experiences of other children, 
and descriptions of places and events. They 
will be less and less inclined to indulge in 
phantastic creations and more capable of clear 
images of things and scenes. Under the stim¬ 
ulus of real sights and vivid descriptions their 
minds will form more and more elaborate com¬ 
binations, until they can image the scenery of 
the Holy Land and the royal city of Jerusalem. 
And then, touched by the Spirit of God, and 
led by the sympathetic teacher or parent, they 
may reach to the exercise of true faith which 
involves the religious use of the imagination. 
Imagination is the eye of the soul which in 
heathen Chaldea sees to the west a land of 
promise; which sees in the offering of an only 
son the divine ability to raise Him from the 
dead; which looks beyond the treasures of 
Egypt to the recompense of reward; and which 
sees beyond a sojourn in tabernacles a city 
which hath eternal foundations. The teacher 

77 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


should aspire to develop in his pupils this 
power to apprehend invisible realities, so that 
from time to time they may fill in and enrich 
the picture that John portrays, the golden 
streets, the crystal river, the gates of pearl, 
and the tree of life, until it seems a home in 
which they will be glad to live forever. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. Use of imagination in invention. 

2. Imagination and art. 

3. Use of imagination in planning a life career. 

4. Vices of the imagination. 

5. The religious use of the imagination. 


78 


VIII 


THOUGHT 

Our aim as teachers should be to produce 
not merely Bible students, but intelligent Bi¬ 
ble students; not simply Christians, but intel¬ 
ligent Christians. To be intelligent is to be 
able to classify, to relate, to infer. To perceive, 
to memorize, to imagine, are necessary pro¬ 
cesses in the acquisition of knowledge, but 
they constantly point the way to the higher 
process of thinking. The lower animals may 
have sensations and perform acts of memory 
and imagination; instinct and training help 
them to do many wonderful things, but they 
can not think. Man alone thinks. 

What It Is to Think. When we perform the 
mental acts previously considered, we have 
dealt exclusively with individual things. We 
taste a particular orange, we recall the face of 
a particular friend or a particular past event. 
But we may consider fruit or friends in gen¬ 
eral. We may say that fruit is appetizing, or 
friends are one’s best possessions. When we 

79 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


reason about things in general we think. 
Thinking involves three separate steps—con¬ 
ception, judgment, and reasoning. These go 
on together, but each one stands out clearly in 
an analysis of the process of thinking. 

The Formation of Concepts. The child’s 
first notion of a dog is gained possibly from a 
shaggy Shepherd with which he played from 
day to day. The word dog was associated in 
his mind with the mental image of this partic¬ 
ular dog. Later he saw other animals resem¬ 
bling in a general way his dog, but differing 
in shape, size and color. He hears the word 
dog applied to these also. He observes the 
different individual dogs, compares and con¬ 
trasts them, draws away the features of resem¬ 
blance or essential qualities, and groups them 
together into a concept or general idea to 
which he gives the name dog. As other speci¬ 
mens are noticed which have qualities agreeing 
with the concept, his concept dog becomes 
fuller and clearer so that when he hears the 
remark, “Dogs are fierce,” he does not think 
of any particular dog, but of certain essential 
qualities which enter into his general idea of 
dog. 

In the same way the word chair does not 

80 


THOUGHT 


stand for any particular chair, but certain es¬ 
sential qualities, as seat, back, and legs. Tree 
as a concept implies all the trees we have ever 
known, and includes the essential qualities of 
trunk, branches, and foliage. The words, dog, 
chair, and tree, are symbols which stand for 
aggregations of essential elements, and are class 
words or common nouns. As we examine the 
contents of our minds we find a large number 
of such class words. The mind is thus relieved 
of what would be an impossible burden of car¬ 
rying the images of all the individual objects 
or experiences in our minds unrelated. We 
put them into classes, put a word on each class 
as a label, and carry the labels. This is a de¬ 
vice of mental economy. It explains the power 
of the mind to store up facts. This power of 
the mind to compare objects or images, abstract 
their common qualities, and group all the ob¬ 
jects possessing these common qualities under 
one name, is called conception. The product 
of this activity is called a concept. The end of 
concept-forming should be rich, full concepts, 
with a wide basis of experience and the essen¬ 
tial qualities clearly recognized. 

Teaching Hints. The mind tends to classify 
its material. When a new object is known the 

81 


THE PUPIL AND IIOW TO TEACH HIM 


mind tries as soon as possible to place it in 
its appropriate class. This is usually done at 
first hastily and carelessly. We find our gen¬ 
eral ideas in need of constant revision. If we 
place an object in the wrong class, and then 
reason about it as though it had the essential 
marks of that class, we fall into error. To 
avoid this error the teacher can assist the pu¬ 
pil : 

1. To observe closely. Indistinct concepts 
are usually the result of faulty or insufficient 
observation. Dissatisfy him with surface ap¬ 
pearances. Teach him to penetrate to the hid¬ 
den resemblances. 

2. To classify accurately. No individual 
or particular should be allowed to pass into 
the class which does not possess the essential 
attributes which characterize that class. Each 
class must be distinct and admit only those 
things that bear the essential marks. 

3. To put content into the word symbols. 
Pupils sometimes fall into the shiftless habit 
of using words which in their minds stand for 
little or nothing. They are constantly appro¬ 
priating class words from their elders and 

from books without at the same time clearlv 

«/ 

apprehending the ideas behind them. It de- 

82 


THOUGHT 


volves upon the teacher always to see that they 
do not use words without understanding the 
qualities and attributes which they connote. 

4. To relate every new thing. Every un¬ 
related percept or image is soon lost. If you 
examine the contents of children’s minds you 
will find much poorly related material. Only 
that which has a discovered point of resem¬ 
blance is of any value. The teacher can sug¬ 
gest relationships and point out hidden lines 
of connection and assist the student to refer 
the new thing to its appropriate class. 

5. Frequent definition. We have seen that 
concepts undergo constant change. Our ideas 
of home, work, suffering, and death are quite 
different from those of the child. How our 
ideas of heaven have changed with the years. 
Our concepts of faithfulness, service, duty, 
and God have grown up out of the multiplied 
experiences of the passing years. In a sense 
our realities change. The teacher must know 
what appeals as realities to persons of differ¬ 
ent ages. Heaven represented as a realm of 
eternal rest would be a place of torment to the 
average boy. A child that would sing, “I want 
to be an angel and with the angels stand, ’ ’ with 
any sense of meaning of the words would be a 

S3 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


pious little hypocrite. The realities of chil¬ 
dren are largely earthly, and until disappoint¬ 
ments thicken, the shadows deepen, and the 
faculties fail, this earth seems quite good 
enough. The teacher must know his pupils so 
that he may know their realities, what they 
think of and desire. He must take his words 
from their vocabulary. Unless the words stand 
for the same meaning in the minds of the 
teacher and the taught, how can the instructor 
make any progress? A sympathetic teacher 
will know the various realities which different 
experiences yield, and select his ideas and 
words accordingly. Words are only symbols. 
A real teacher takes nothing for granted, but 
tests his teaching by frequent definition to see 
if the words used in teaching stand for the 
same ideas for teacher and class. 

Concepts and Thought. Concepts are the 
units out of which are built the higher pro¬ 
cesses of thought. The higher reasoning is 
concerned with these units. Lead the child 
through full and accurate perception, careful 
analysis, abstraction and generalization to 
those clear general notions with which he can 
rear a structure of truth which will not crum¬ 
ble beneath all the attacks of criticism and 

84 


THOUGHT 


doubt. Education is the process of acquiring 
concepts or ideas. ‘ ‘ The best educated mind, *’ 
as Professor James says, “has the most ideas 
ready to meet the largest possible variety of 
the emergencies of life.” Here lies the oppor¬ 
tunity of the Sunday-school teacher. 

Judgment. As soon as the child has formed 
a general idea it constitutes a standard of ref¬ 
erence. A particular object may be compared 
with it and its agreement asserted. This as¬ 
sertion is a judgment. After forming the con¬ 
cept animal, he finds that his dog has the qual¬ 
ities of the concept animal and makes the judg¬ 
ment, “My dog is an animal.” In this way 
new things are being constantly referred to 
old concepts and find their place in the knowl¬ 
edge system. When the two concepts disagree 
we have a negative judgment, “My dog is not 
a bird.” 

Mating Ideas. As general ideas increase 
the mind continues to compare these also. 
“Stones are hard;” “forgiveness is godlike.” 
This establishment of relations has been appro¬ 
priately called the “mating of ideas.” The 
mind exhibits a strong tendency to thus mate 
ideas. When children discover the pleasure of 
this exercise, for some time they go about con- 

85 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


stantly making assertions. They seem to chal¬ 
lenge opposition in order to assert more 
strongly. 

Office of Judgment. The senses are contin¬ 
ually giving us knowledge of new facts. These 
facts demand adjustment with other facts; 
they require explanation. To explain a fact is 
to establish its connections in our whole body 
of knowledge. To explain the rising of the 
sun is to see that fact in relation to the rota¬ 
tion of the earth on its axis. The office of the 
judgment is to explain by discovering and as¬ 
serting relations. 

Training the Judgment. Baldwin has said 
that teaching is the art of training the pupil 
to think. No training can be complete which 
does not provide for the education of the judg¬ 
ment. Children err in forming judgments for 
several reasons: 

1. They do not take time for deliberation 
in making comparisons. 

2. They accept the ideas and judgments of 
others without examination and criticism. 

3. They are creatures of strong prejudice. 
The training of the judgment will make this 
faculty more accurate. To train the judgment 
the child must do his own thinking. The true 

86 


THOUGHT 


teacher will assist him just enough to keep him 
on the right track to the right conclusion. The 
true method is from percept to concept, from 
concept to judgment. See that your pupil is 
clear in his concepts and word-meanings, and 
then encourage him to make the conclusion 
himself. The teacher is too often satisfied with 
mere exhibition of memory, but loading the 
memory can not in education take the place of 
the training of the judgment. Every fact has 
numerous connections. A trained judgment 
will connect up each fact with as many others 
as possible. This is a normal and healthy ac¬ 
tivity of the mind which builds up an orderly 
and compact system of knowledge. Organized 
knowledge is useful knowledge. 

Reasoning. Just as the comparison of objects 
or images results in the formation of concepts; 
as the comparison of concepts results in judg¬ 
ments ; so the comparison of judgments results 
in reasoning. Reasoning is the highest phase 
of thinking. As the concept is a mental ab¬ 
straction, and the judgment the establishment 
of relations between abstractions, or particu¬ 
lars and abstractions, so reasoning is an ab¬ 
stract process, the highest attainment of the 
mind. It should be the aim of the teacher to 

87 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


lead the pupil on to this highest thought pro¬ 
cess. 

Induction and Deduction. These are the 
terms applied to the two principal methods of 
reasoning. In the comparison of judgments 
we may proceed from particular instances to a 
conclusion. This is the inductive method. “Un¬ 
der this method I teach: Jacob sinned; he re¬ 
pented; God forgave him. David sinned, re ; 
pented, and God forgave him. Therefore the 
conclusion, If a man sin and repent, God will 
forgive him. By the deductive method I teach :• 
If a man sin and repent, God will forgive him. 
Jacob sinned and repented; God forgave him.” 
(Slattery.) In reasoning with the Jews at 
Thessalonica, Paul used the deductive method. 
The Christ expected by the Jews must suffer 
and die and rise. This Jesus whom I preach 
suffered and died and rose again; therefore the 
Jesus whom I preach unto you is the Christ. 
By the deductive method we proceed from 
a general law to particular cases. The induc¬ 
tive method is the natural method of education. 
It begins with the examination of particular 
instances, encourages discover}^, and leads up 
to new knowledge. When the general truth 
has been reached the child should be encour- 

88 


THOUGHT 

aged to apply it to new eases that arise in his 
experience. 

Analogy. This is a common method of rea¬ 
soning. The earth is of known size, seasons, 
temperature, force of gravity, and atmosphere, 
and is inhabited. Astronomers tell us that the 
planet Mars is similar to the earth in size, sea¬ 
sons, temperature, force of gravity and atmos¬ 
phere. We infer, therefore, that Mars is in¬ 
habited. This conclusion is much less satisfy¬ 
ing than those reached by induction and de¬ 
duction. However, if the objects compared 
have many points of resemblance, the conclu¬ 
sion reaches a high degree of probability; if 
the resemblances are few we are slow to accept 
a conclusion. 

Practical Reasoning. The formal methods 
of deduction and induction are in common ex¬ 
perience relatively rare. Reasoning by analogy 
is a more common process by which most per¬ 
sons arrive at conclusions. In a similar way 
they apply ready-made judgments to the vari¬ 
ous situations of their daily life, and proceed 
to adjust themselves accordingly. This rapid 
and short-cut process of inference is possible 
only when the mind has been furnished by ex¬ 
perience with a considerable number of famil- 

89 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


iar general principles, ready to be applied to 
specific instances. 

It is quite important that individuals are 
able to form these rapid conclusions in matters 
of conduct. This may be done when there ex¬ 
ist in the mind and heart definite and clear 
fundamental moral principles. The establish¬ 
ment of these in the pupil’s mind is the privi¬ 
lege and duty of the teacher. He should re¬ 
member, however, that what seems so funda¬ 
mental to him is not likely to be so obvious to 
the untrained thinker, and must be developed 
within him by the longer and more analytical 
reasoning processes. Very much of the adult 
reasoning is quite beyond the reach of the 
average pupil. Each step of the explanation 
and proof should be kept within his mental 
grasp. When these general moral principles 
are thoroughly understood and fully accepted 
by the pupil, they may be instantly applied to 
the complicated situations that arise in daily 
life. The permanent possession of these moral 
standards, capable of ready reference, contrib¬ 
utes to mental and moral economy, and makes 
deliberation unnecessary in those critical mo¬ 
ments when to hesitate is to lose. 

Reasoning Period. While comparison and 

90 


THOUGHT 


experience are involved in all the various 
thought processes, reasoning proper may be 
said to be of late maturity, and the product of 
years of growth and experience. It is a mis¬ 
take, therefore, to attempt to compel children 
to see reasons for everything that is required 
at too early an age. The teacher or parent is 
justified in requiring obedience where such 
obedience may seem to the child to be arbi¬ 
trary. To fail here is to precipitate an argu¬ 
ment on every occasion when disagreeable 
tasks are proposed. But underlying reasons 
should be gradually introduced, and the child 
be made aware of the natural consequences of 
acts, and led to make conclusions for himself. 
With the accumulation of experience he finds 
himself more and more trustworthy in the 
finding of reasons and drawing conclusions. 

At fifteen the memory is active and the ex¬ 
ercise of it gives a peculiar exhilaration. The 
five years following find all things subjected to 
a searching examination, and the tendency is 
to reject everything the reasons for which are 
not immediately forthcoming. With many the 
development of the reason is attended with 
doubt and a thorough investigation of the 
foundation of belief. Religious doubts at this 

91 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


period are no sure sign of confirmed skepti¬ 
cism. They are incident to the effort to under¬ 
stand the mysterious in the world of sense or 
of spirit. Under wise treatment the agitation 
of doubt may pass into the calm of a settled 
faith, and the demand of unbelief, “Show me 
the prints of the nails,” may be followed by 
the utterance of settled faith, “My Lord and 
my God.” 

Reasoning and Cause. Reasoning involves 
an inquiry into the cause of things. To find a 
reason for a thing is to ascertain its cause and 
so explain its occurrence. While the idea of 
cause is innate and does not require proof, it is 
developed in the child mind in the course of 
experience. The child early notices that things 
are associated in a certain order; food is fol¬ 
lowed by satisfaction, a sharp blow by pain. 
He associates his own actions with results, and 
gradually arrives at the idea of cause. The 
relation seems so fixed in his experiences that 
he concludes at length that every change has a 
cause, and that every action involving change 
has a purpose. Questions now come thick and 
fast, and the interrogative “why” breaks in 
with embarrassing pertinacity. How easy it is 
now to lead the child mind up to the idea of 

92 


THOUGHT 


God as the great Cause; who made all things, 
and all things with a purpose. This can usually 
be done so wisely and so well that later in the 
evil day when doubt and criticism exercise his 
mind, he will find the existence of God the 
most fundamental proposition of his growing 
philosophy, and heartily approve the wisdom 
of the psalmist when he said, “The fool hath 
said in his heart, There is no God. ’ 9 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. The vocabulary of a child at eight years of 
age. 

2. The history for you of your concept of re¬ 
ligion. 

3. Form ten judgments relating to the word 
“teaching.” 

4. Discuss Jesus’ method of developing the mean¬ 
ing of neighbor. 


93 


IX 


% 


THE FEELINGS 

Education to be complete must include the 
whole life of the soul. Feeling is a funda¬ 
mental aspect of our soul life. Education is 
too often limited to the intellect. It should 
include the feelings—our emotional and affec- 
tional nature. The truest education not only 
informs the mind and issues in action, but as 
well captures the affections. The heart is the 
figurative Bible phrase for the feelings. Com¬ 
plete education enables the pupil to hide the 
word in his heart, and to keep his heart “with 
all diligence, for out of it are the issues of 
life.” 

Nature of Feelings. As the child proceeds 
on his life journey and comes into contact with 
an ever-changing environment, he is constantly 
made aware how his environment affects him . 
He finds himself at times affected in an agree¬ 
able manner, at other times in a disagreeable 
manner. Of these affections he calls the one 
pleasure and the other pain. Every experi- 

94 


THE FEELINGS 


ence is attended by one or the other of these 
feelings. Both objects and ideas excite them. 
Every act of the body, every act of percep¬ 
tion, memory, imagination, or will, is accom¬ 
panied in some degree by one or the other of 
these feelings. As the self goes on reacting 
upon its environment and feeding upon the 
knowledge which it acquires, the feelings con¬ 
stantly report concerning its welfare. Pleas¬ 
ure testifies that the self is finding in its sur¬ 
roundings such activities as are normal and 
conducive to health. Pain is nature’s way of 
telling us that our experiences are abnormal 
and ruinous. 

Development of the Feelings. Just as the 
intellectual activities develop from the simple 
to the complex, so the feelings with experience 
and exercise become increasingly complex. The 
first feelings are 

1. Sense-feelings. These are the feelings 
that are localized in the body and that are con¬ 
nected with the senses. The early life of the 
child is concerned chiefly with nutrition and 
growth, hence early mental life consists chiefly 
of sense-feelings. The natural appetites, as 
hunger, thirst, weariness, restlessness, are in¬ 
stinctive bodily cravings which are more or 

95 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


less painful and which result in pleasure when 
satisfied. With the development of the intel¬ 
lectual life and the accumulation of ideas, the 
association of ideas and sense-feelings result in 
2. Emotions. This form of feeling is more 
complex than sensation. It arises from ideas 
rather than from physical stimulation. It has 
its origin in the reproduction in the mind of 
some pain or pleasure, and always tends to 
find outward expression. Thus the emotion of 
love originates in the mental association of a 
person with various pleasurable sensations, 
and it tends to express itself in favors and 
blessings. The association in the mind of an 
object which threatens bodily injury and the 
imaged feeling of pain that has resulted from 
previous injury, gives rise to fear, which tends 
to express itself in flight. The mental associa¬ 
tion of a person that thwarts activity or op¬ 
poses gratification with the feeling of pain that 
follows an injury, produces an emotion of an¬ 
ger or revenge. The natural expression of this 
emotion is an act of destruction of the thwart¬ 
ing object or person. Other emotions are re¬ 
spect and sympathy. As the mind is further 
furnished with ideas and judgments, a still 
higher form of feeling appears in the so-called 

9G 


THE FEELINGS 


3. Sentiments. These are feelings of pain 
or pleasure that accompany ideas and their re¬ 
lation to one another. They are less intense 
and more enduring than emotions. There 
arises a pleasurable feeling in the acquisition 
of knowledge and the discovery of truth. This 
is called the intellectual sentiment. With the 
recognition of the agreement of an object with 
an ideal standard of form or color, we have 
the c esthetic sentiment, or the feeling that ac¬ 
companies apprehension of beauty. Again the 
feeling that arises from a comparison of an act 
with an ideal standard of conduct gives rise 
to the moral sentiment. Moral feeling is the 
highest type of feelings. The great majority 
of persons live in the lower feelings. They are 
dominated by the pleasures of the body, or 
are animated by the egoistic emotions of anger 
and hate. It is the privilege of the teacher to 
introduce the child to the altruistic emotions 
of love and sympathy, and the noble feelings 
that accompany right action. The recognition 
of the higher feelings is the basis of culture 
and right character. 

Why Cultivate the Feelings. 1. Feeling 
stands in intimate relation to knowing. It 
supplies interest without which there can be no 

97 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


intellectual exercise. The cultivation of the 
feelings multiplies the interests of life and 
thus enriches life. 

2. Feeling is essential to doing. Pleasures 
and pains are incentives to action. This is the 
case when they are present in idea as well as 
in reality. Feeling supplies desire without 
which there can be no willing. Strong feel¬ 
ing is requisite to decisive action. Habitual 
conduct follows our dominant feelings. 

3. Feeling grows by cultivation. At first 
violent, transient, selfish, and destructive, it 
may by regulation and guidance develop into 
those strong emotions and lofty sentiments 
which prompt to noble deeds. 

Emotions and Instincts. The child is a crea¬ 
ture of instincts. He puts forth activity in 
certain ways for his advantage without being 
taught. Among the instincts are those of play, 
rivalry, combativeness, and imitation. These 
instinctive acts are accompanied by character¬ 
istic emotions. By cultivating the instinct of 
play in company with others, the parent may 
cultivate in the child the feeling of sympathy 
and emulation. By fostering the instinct of 
combativeness the emotion of anger grows 
Strong. In like manner fear, cowardice, self- 

98 


THE FEELINGS 


respect, and love of power, early acquire a mo¬ 
mentum and a bent which lead to emotional 
habits, and these develop into emotional tem¬ 
peraments and moods. What an injustice to a 
child to treat him so that the emotions of fear 
and anger are over-developed. The parent and 
teacher should so train the instincts that the 
accompanying emotions shall be contentment, 
cheerfulness, and hope, rather than the pain¬ 
ful feelings of grief, anxiety, sullenness, and 
antipathy. 

Training the Emotions. This involves asso¬ 
ciating the various emotions with the proper 
objects. Even the feelings that seem to be un¬ 
desirable must be preserved and directed in¬ 
to the right channels. 

1. Recognizing the law of growth by exer¬ 
cise, repress so far as possible the wrong feel¬ 
ings and guard against opportunities for their 
manifestation. A child prone to anger should 
be kept out of the society of tantalizing com¬ 
panions and nagging, scolding superiors. 
Avoid provocation and open conflict with the 
quick-tempered and the obstinate. Many par¬ 
ents unwittingly foster vanity in their chil¬ 
dren by the “putting on of apparel;” puff 
them up to ridiculous self-importance by pa- 

99 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


rading them; lead them on to pride of intel¬ 
lect and social standing by unworthy compari¬ 
sons and injudicious praise; cultivate irrever¬ 
ence by speaking lightly of God, His house, 
His ministers, His children. On the other 
hand, if we give children pleasure in the com¬ 
pany of others by suitable recreation and ac¬ 
tivity, we inevitably stimulate the emotion of 
love and sympathy. The pleasure of the rec¬ 
reation comes to be associated with the per¬ 
sons with whom it is enjoyed, and so their so¬ 
ciety comes to be desired. Children need the 
society of other children to develop suitably 
the social feelings. 

2. Recognizing the law that every emotion 
has its bodily expression, it will be seen that 
emotion without expression is impossible, and 
that to assume the bodily attitude of expres¬ 
sion is the surest way to suggest and induce 
that emotion. Clench the fists and gnash the 
teeth, and anger standeth at the door. Attend 
the funeral of even a stranger, assume the at¬ 
titude and expression of sorrow out of defer¬ 
ence to the friends and the occasion, and soon 
genuine feelings of sorrow and sympathy arise. 
Control as far as we can our own physical ex¬ 
pressions and those of the children, and the 

100 


THE FEELINGS 

feelings themselves will be modified and trans¬ 
formed. 

3. As emotions are the accompaniments of 
ideas, it follows that the emotions will be in¬ 
fluenced by the cultivation of the intellect. 
Certain kinds of fear will be seen to be un¬ 
reasonable. The knowledge of the principles 
of art will develop the aesthetic sensibilities. 
The knowledge of God and His works will 
draw out admiration for the moral law. Feel¬ 
ing and knowing mutually react. 

4. Connect with suitable objects. Emo¬ 
tions arise in connection with instincts re¬ 
lated to self-preservation, so that even the 
emotions that seem undesirable have their 
place when rightly exercised. Anger should 
be associated with tyranny and persecution, 
and become righteous indignation which in¬ 
sists upon relief and punishment. “Be ye an¬ 
gry and sin not.” The feelings of self-impor¬ 
tance may be associated with worthy ideals of 
self-respect, that one may develop in proper 
feelings of self-respect, and in that love of self 
which is the standard of our love for others. 
Fear that is paralyzing and cowardly may by 
proper association become affectionate fear, 
which is the “beginning of wisdom.” And 

101 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


love may be centered in God, and become 
the motive force of all conduct—that blissful 
emotion which with suitable opportunities for 
its full exercise makes heaven. This connec¬ 
tion of the emotions with worthy objects in its 
complete sense implies a transformation of the 
heart-life that only God Himself has power to 
effect. But we can be laborers together with 
Him. 

Practical Suggestions. Out of the forego¬ 
ing principles we draw the following applica¬ 
tions : 

1. Make the physical conditions in the Sun¬ 
day-school pleasurable. This will mean com¬ 
fortable seats, good ventilation, light room, 
and a varying program. The pleasures of these 
conveniences will by the transference of feel¬ 
ing come to be associated with the lessons of 
truth and Bible study. 

2. Take advantage of the aesthetic feelings. 
Children admire the beautiful. Every Sun¬ 
day-school can do much for the definite cul¬ 
ture of these lofty sentiments by the use of 
pictures. Half-tone reproductions of the best 
works of art are available. These may be 
given to the pupils or framed for the walls of 
the Sunday-school room. The influence of a 

102 


THE FEELINGS 


beautiful picture elevates the taste, and awak¬ 
ens love and reverence. 

3. Be a teacher animated by the higher 
feelings. Let these control during the class 
period. Feeling radiates. Reverence and sym¬ 
pathy are communicated from teacher to class. 

4. As the social feelings develop, and the 
pupil craves friendship and companionship, 
let these feelings find in the occupations and 
recreations of the class their natural satisfac¬ 
tion. The teacher should be the chum and 
best friend of every member of the class. 

5. Appeal should more and more be made 
to the higher feelings as they develop. The in¬ 
tellectual and moral sentiments are the truest 
incentives to right conduct, and hence tran¬ 
sition should be made from the lower pleasures 
as soon as possible. 

6. Let feeling find expression in action. 
Feeling as well as knowledge exists for right 
action. If feeling exhausts itself without find¬ 
ing an outlet in action, it degenerates into sick¬ 
ly sentimentality, which is destructive alike of 
healthy feeling and vigorous action. The 
teacher who dares to awaken feeling in his pu¬ 
pils must meet the responsibility of finding 
something for them to do. The curse of our 

103 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


Sunday-schools is a failure to suggest and pro¬ 
vide the proper terminal facilities of all our 
knowing and feeling. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. Make a study and give a report of the evident 
feeling life for one day of a child of six years. 

2. What is involved in the training of the feel¬ 
ings? What opportunity does the Sunday-school 
have in the training of the feelings? 

3. What would result from a constant repres¬ 
sion of a child’s feelings? 

4. What ends of action for aroused feelings may 
the Sunday-school supply? 


104 


X 


THE MORAL AND RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS 

As we ascend the scale of feeling we pass 
from simple physical feelings of pleasure and 
pain through the various emotions of fear, an¬ 
ger, and love to the highest forms of feeling 
known as sentiments. 

The Sentiments Explained. When a feeling 
is excited by an idea, we call the feeling an 
emotion. When an emotion involves the exer¬ 
cise of judgment or reason we have sentiment. 
Emotions are sudden, transitory, and overmas¬ 
tering. Sentiments are less active and more 
enduring. Sentiments are feelings called forth 
by the recognition of an ideal, intellectual, 
aesthetic or moral. 

Classification. The intellectual sentiments 
deal with the standards of truth, the basis of 
the science of logic. The cesthetic sentiments 
deal with standards of beauty, and are consid¬ 
ered in that branch of knowledge called 
aesthetics. The moral sentiments arise from so¬ 
cial relations, and have to do with an ideal 

105 



THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


standard of conduct. Questions of conduct in 
relation to an ideal of behavior and character 
constitute the subject matter of ethics. The re¬ 
ligious sentiment is a moral sentiment which 
grows out of our relation to God. 

Morality of Childhood. The child early ex¬ 
hibits tendencies toward right or wrong. 
These tendencies are the result partly of hered¬ 
ity and partly of his environment. The child 
is at first the creature of instincts and im¬ 
pulses. As these impulses become regulated by 
an enlightened will, he is said to become moral. 
Children borrow their moral ideas from others. 
They manifest curious moral inconsistencies 
and contradictions. Their moral standards are 
erected gradually and sometimes very slowly. 

The problem of the teacher is complicated 
by the fact that no two pupils exhibit the same 
moral conditions or capacities. Side by side in 
the same class are persons with widely differ¬ 
ing tendencies, with widely differing concep¬ 
tions of right and wrong, and with many erro¬ 
neous ideas gained from their surroundings in 
the home or on the street. Many children are 
not so much immoral as unmoral. The teacher 
must help them to see the consequences of 
their acts, to appreciate the value of motives, 

10G 


MORAL AND RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS 


and to honor and educate their conscience. An 
appeal to honor, however, where there is no 
proper standard of honor is futile and dis¬ 
appointing. 

Development of the Moral Judgment. The 

child is at first without moral judgment. He 
is only potentially moral. His early ideas of 
morality arise in relation to parental law. His 
ideas of right and wrong grow out of his obe¬ 
dience to customary commands enforced by 
penalties and rewards. The law of the home 
is later supplemented by the law of the com¬ 
munity personified by the policeman. Batting 
a ball through a neighboring window brings 
many a boy into contact with a superior power 
which may exact a penalty from him, and 
thereby quicken his respect for social relations 
and enlarge his power of moral perception. 

Social games also teach children moral dis¬ 
tinctions. To take part, they must have re¬ 
spect for rules which require fair play. 
Through plays and games the child’s social 
horizon is widened, and he learns voluntary 
cooperation and increasing respect for the 
rights of others. 

The time comes, however, in the develop¬ 
ment of the child, when the command, “Thou 

107 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


shalt not” of external authority must be ex¬ 
changed for the spontaneous obedience to a 
self-imposed law. This is true morality when 
he makes the moral law his own by giving him¬ 
self in voluntary obedience to its spirit. It is 
a free choice of a course of action which ap¬ 
peals to his judgment as conserving the true 
interests of himself and others. 

At first, relatively few acts are conceived as 
objects of moral value. Progress in morality 
consists not only in a gradual elevation and a 
greater distinctness of moral standards, but 
also in the inclusion of more and more acts 
among those held to be of moral worth. The 
true conception of morality is that no acts are 
indifferent. Perfect morality is realized in 
religion, which calls forth the injunction of 
the apostle, ‘ ‘ Whether therefore ye eat, or 
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory 
of God.” 

Teaching Morals. Herbart is quoted as say¬ 
ing that education which does not have moral¬ 
ity as its supreme end must result in hopeless 
confusion. The teacher’s great work is to de¬ 
velop in the mind of his pupil proper ideas of 
right and wrong, and make these ideas effec¬ 
tual in life. Moral instruction may begin in 

108 


MORAL AND RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS 


the teaching of manners. Good manners im¬ 
ply a recognition of others, and enter into 
agreeable companionships. Courtesy and a 
recognition of the forms of social intercourse 
are not only virtues in themselves, but lead to 
other and higher virtues. To be thoughtful of 
others, to respect their rights, to be generous 
and modest, to appear well at the table, in the 
parlor or on the street, are an important part 
of one’s education. 

Moral instruction involves also the develop¬ 
ment of the feeling of obligation. It is a feel¬ 
ing that what can be done to benefit others is a 
duty. The teacher must clearly define the du¬ 
ties owing to self, to others, and to God. He 
will develop the obligation to respect life, to 
avoid interference with others, to have regard 
for the character and the property of others, 
and to respect the truth. Truth is at the ba¬ 
sis of all morality and the foundation of char¬ 
acter. 

Moral instruction makes use of the motives 
of pain and pleasure, but does not rest with 
these. To do the right from a hope of reward, 
or from fear of punishment, is not morality. 
The right must be chosen for its own sake, or 
because it is right. The teacher must make his 

100 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


final appeal to the moral sense of the pupil. 
He will secure the growth of the moral sense 
by providing for its exercise. He must recog¬ 
nize the conscience of the pupil and seek to 
arouse it rather than to force it. 

Moral training will make large use of the 
feeling of sympathy. This feeling, at first 
only incipient, may develop into a powerful 
emotion, and become a strong incentive to 
moral action. Emphasis upon the Golden Rule 
tends to cultivate sympathy. As he thinks of 
himself in the place of others, the child be¬ 
comes less cruel, the youth more considerate 
of others, and the man less harsh in judgment 
and action. 

While morality may be inculcated by wise 
instruction, it is more fully developed in the 
pupil by example. The conscious or uncon¬ 
scious imitation of the acts of parent, teacher 
or friend is more potent in moral training 
than much scolding, intimidation, or any 
amount of exercise of authority. Children as¬ 
sume with wonderful alacrity the acts of those 
who show interest and sympathy and appre¬ 
ciation. 

The Conscience. Conscience is the activity 
of the soul in self-judgment. It is the self in 

110 


MORAL AND RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS 


the act of judging itself. It is the voice of the 
true self speaking on matters of conduct. The 
conscience testifies in connection with every act 
committed or purposed that is apprehended to 
have moral quality. It says, “That is right,” 
or “That is wrong.” In times of mental and 
moral clearness, it speaks in thunder tones. 

The activity of conscience is twofold. It is 
the activity of the intellect in judgment upon 
an act compared with a standard of conduct 
set up in the moral law. In this judicial ca¬ 
pacity conscience is both accuser and judge. 
When one arraigns himself before himself, 
conscience accuses, and condemns or acquits. 

i 

Conscience is also the characteristic feeling 
that accompanies the exercise of moral judg¬ 
ment. It is the feeling of approval or disap¬ 
proval, and is especially marked in connection 
with past acts in the feeling of remorse which 
is one of the most intense of the emotions. 
When the judgment passes a severe sentence 
of condemnation, and the consequences are 
wholly beyond recall, remorse may pass into 
the feeling of despair. 

As conscience is part of the mental endow¬ 
ment of an individual, it may be said to be 
God-given. In so far as it may be developed 

111 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


through the exercise of judgment and feeling, 
it is the product of education. An enlight¬ 
ened conscience is a truly educated conscience, 
which apprehends clearly the moral law, the 
obligation of the individual to observe it, and 
the motives and likely consequences of his acts. 
A good conscience is an enlightened conscience, 
and follows one’s effort to live according to his 
best judgment and truest feelings. A seared 
conscience is the result of a perverted moral 
judgment and a loss of moral feeling. It is a 
confusion of moral distinctions and is really a 
blunting or destruction of the moral sense. It 
may result from deliberately calling wrong 
right and right wrong, or from a mere neglect 
to recognize the authority of conscience or to 
obey its voice. This moral derangement is the 
penalty of being untrue to the laws of our be¬ 
ing, and to God who wrote the laws in the hu¬ 
man soul, and leads to moral suicide. 

Development of the Conscience. The teacher 
may look upon his work as that of developing 
in his pupils a good conscience. To be con¬ 
scientious implies the habit of reflecting on 
the motives of conduct, and also extreme care 
with regard to outward acts. It is to ask one’s 
self, “Did I do the right act with the right 

112 


MORAL AND RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS 


motive?” “Is my life on the plane which cor¬ 
responds to my ideal of what life should be?” 
This process of self-examination will call atten¬ 
tion to the general principles of his conduct, 
and awaken him to a new sense of duty. A 
teacher may at proper times help a student to 
study his own motives, and to view his general 
attitude toward life. 

While a study of the inner life is usually 
helpful, it may indicate a morbid state of 
mind. Teachers of adolescents passing through 
the storm and stress period must use great cau¬ 
tion at this point. On the whole it is better to 
direct the mind of the youth to some external 
type than to fix the attention upon the inner 
motives. Here is the opportunity of the 
teacher to hold up as examples of right action 
and right motives the heroes of the past, and 
especially and always the Hero of the ages, 
the Ideal of all ideals, the Man of Galilee. 

Childhood Conscience. The sense of right 
and wrong appears early. Conscience is ac¬ 
tive often at the age of four. It shows itself in 
confessions of wrong-doing. “I couldn’t rest 
until I told you.” The parent should encour¬ 
age this exercise of conscience. Not a scolding 
or punishment should reward such confession, 

113 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


but caress and counsel. Merciful and loving 
treatment from father, mother or teacher may 
make it easier for him to acknowledge his sins 
to his heavenly Father ‘ ‘ who upbraideth not. ’’ 

The youth may seem to have no conscience, 
but he keeps it hidden behind a rough exterior. 
It can be appealed to not in vain. During the 
years of the reasoning period—from sixteen to 
twenty—is a critical time for the conscience. 
The tendency to reason is strong. The young 
man may reason with his conscience. He may 
trifle with conscience. He may refuse to act 
upon its advice when he is convinced of the 
wisdom of its counsel. New environments, 
larger outlooks, stronger temptations may ob¬ 
scure the bright ideals of life, and confuse the 
voice of conscience. How needful a teacher 
who knows how to help, and who knows how to 
secure the assistance of the great Helper! 

Adult conscience often presents strange 
anomalies. Some men have a double or even 
a multiple standard of morality. They may 
denounce stealing and fraud, and yet smuggle 
goods through a custom-house. They have a 
general standard of honesty, and another 
standard as shrewd business or professional 
men. The teacher of adults will try to point 

114 


MORAL AND RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS 


out such inconsistencies, and secure the ac¬ 
ceptance of a principle of action which will 
unify all conduct. An inconsistent Christian 
may be honest or ignorant in his inconsistency, 
but he is a reproach to the cause he professes 
to love. 

Moral Evil. Moral defects may be consid¬ 
ered either as overt acts known as sins or 
crimes, or as flaws of character. A superficial 
judgment would be to regard the sinful act as 
of more importance than the sinful condition 
of the heart. But Jesus taught the deeper 
conception of morality, which attaches as much 
significance to the evil in the heart as to the 
evil in the outward act. The Christian stand¬ 
ard of morality, further, recognizes that an 
act which is outwardly good may in reality be 
evil if it is not done from the highest motive. 

Sin is moral evil in its widest sense. Crime 
denotes offenses against society which are rec¬ 
ognized by law. One may be moral in the eyes 
of the law and yet be a sinner before God. Sin 
is always attended by evil consequences, which 
in one way or another involve the perpetrator. 
Guilt always recoils upon the head of the 
offender in some sort of punishment which as¬ 
serts the majesty of the law. This punishment 

115 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


of whatever kind ought to lead to repentance 
and reformation. Real reformation begins 
with God’s pardon and regenerating power. 

Religious Sentiments. Moral sentiments 
grow out of our relation to others. They are 
the feelings of rightness, wrongness, and obli¬ 
gation or responsibility. They accompany our 
conception of an ideal moral order in the 
world. Religious sentiments are moral and so¬ 
cial in their nature, and grow out of our con¬ 
ception of God as a perfect personality, with 
whom we stand in social relation, and who re¬ 
veals to us the possibilities of personal charac¬ 
ter. In religion we recognize God as an object 
of worship, love and obedience. Religion has 
an intellectual element. It recognizes God as 
summing up the rational and moral order of 
the world in Himself a person. True religion 
makes a powerful appeal to the emotions. Over 
emphasis of the intellectual element leads to 
a mere religious philosophy. Over emphasis 
of the emotional element tends to fanaticism 
and mere emotional excitement. The religious 
sentiments are reverence, peace, faith, and 
love. They are powerful emotions, and are in¬ 
centives to the noblest actions and most heroic 
endeavors. The teacher can inculcate habits 

116 


MORAL AND RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS 


of reverence, faith, and love. The discipline in 
the Sunday-school, and the dignified order in 
every religious service, the stately hymns and 
devotional prayers, should suggest unmistak- 
abty to the child heart a reverential attitude 
toward God. 

The religious sentiments of peace, faith, and 
love can be known only in religious experience. 
In religious experience, the feeling life of the 
individual reaches its climax. Conscious rela¬ 
tion with God, our Almighty Father; conscious 
fellowship with Christ, our Elder Brother, in 
the tremendous work of human redemption; 
conscious communion with the Holy Spirit in 
His purifying and ennobling operation in the 
heart, occasion feelings which are inexpressible 
and uncontainable. In contact with the divine 
is realized that peace that passes all under¬ 
standing, that feeling of harmony and reconcil¬ 
iation which follows the full surrender of the 
will. Faith begotten in the soul is that feeling 
of absolute trust in the power and love of the 
Infinite, and that assurance that, out of that 
which is, will in His own good time come that 
which ought to be. Love also finds its richest 
meaning in religion. It is an intense feeling of 
satisfaction that comes from a consciousness of 

117 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


God’s love and care for us under all circum¬ 
stances, and of rightful fellowship with Jesus 
Christ through similarity of character. The 
Sunday-school teacher will not be satisfied with 
inculcating morality, but will labor to bring 
every student to know the love of Christ which 
passeth knowledge that he “may be filled with 
all the fulness of God. ’ ’ 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. In wliat way may ideals of character be best 
presented to a child? 

2. What kinds of conscience are mentioned in the 
New Testament? 

3. Explain the authority of conscience. 

4. Show how music may be employed in develop¬ 
ing religious sentiment. 


118 


XI 


WILL, HABIT, AND CHARACTER 

The world is a place for action. From the 
first there have been gardens “to dress and 
keep, ’ ’ and in this arrangement we have found 
our greatest opportunity and made our high¬ 
est attainments. Jesus came to minister, and 
to found a kingdom in which membership 
should be conditioned upon a life of service. 
The mere display of mind or exercise of feel¬ 
ing, wonderful as these are, avail nothing. Do¬ 
ing is the law of life, physical, mental, and 
spiritual. The wise man who builds his house 
upon the rock, which stands after the storm is 
past, is not the man that hears and feels and 
imagines and desires and reasons, but he that 
“doeth.” The “doer of the work” is blessed, 
not in his wise planning or his magnetic en¬ 
thusiasm, but ‘ ‘ in his doing. ’ ’ The former ex¬ 
ists for the latter. They may not be separated. 

Willing and Doing. Doing that blesses and 
is blessed is action with will in it. Action with 
will in it is called voluntary action. This is 
to be distinguished from 

119 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


1. Impulsive actions — those spontaneous 
movements which follow the stimulations of 
the senses, without aim or purpose. Impulsive 
actions are characteristic of children, and ex¬ 
plain many things even in adult activity other¬ 
wise hard to understand. It is hard for some 
persons to see a train pass without some sort of 
impulsive response—waving the hand, jump¬ 
ing, shouting, or throwing a stone. Mental ex¬ 
citement tends to express itself. 

2. Instinctive actions, which are related to 
the promotion of life, and reach out toward 
ends, but not consciously. The bee which so 
industriously stores up honey for its winter 
wants, and the ant to which the wise man 
would send the sluggard to school, perform all 
their labor in accordance with the workings of 
instinct. The child is possessed of many in¬ 
stincts which emerge successively during his 
lengthy immaturity—instincts to seek food, to 
seek protection, to seek companionship, to 
unite in groups and companies for mutual in¬ 
tercourse. The disposition of some children to 
fight and of others to steal may grow out of 
the instincts of self-protection and acquisitive¬ 
ness, and such action not be voluntary or de¬ 
liberate. With the development of rational 

120 


WILL, HABIT, AND CHARACTER 


intelligence the instincts weaken and the will 
takes control. Instinctive movements are the 
raw materials of voluntary action, and volun¬ 
tary actions are the materials which enter into 
character. 

Development of Will. A creature of im¬ 
pulses and instincts, the child reaches even¬ 
tually a situation in which more than one re¬ 
sponse is possible. An object or situation may 
present a threatening aspect. The instinct of 
fear would prompt to flight, that of curiosity 
to remain and explore. Deliberation ensues, 
and eventually a choice is made, and in this 
unrecorded moment that wonderful power of 
the mind takes its beginning which may later 
direct a railroad system or change the map of 
a continent. 

Volition is the regulation of impulses. Out 
of the chaos of random and aimless move¬ 
ments it brings the beauty and strength of a 
well-ordered life. With the continued exer¬ 
cise of choice and the development of will, the 
power of impulse and instinct weakens, and 
these lose themselves in habits. 

Will Result of Organization. Voluntary ac¬ 
tion looks both backward and forward. Its 
constituent elements are deliberation and 

121 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


choice. Deliberation is the product of past ex¬ 
perience; choice involves the idea of some fu¬ 
ture good. 

The sight of food stimulates an impulse to 
eat. But the mind associates a previous im¬ 
pulse of like nature with a past disability 
caused by excessive or inopportune eating, and 
the will to refrain from eating may result for 
the sake of physical well-being. The impulse 
to eat is organized into a continuous experi¬ 
ence. The mind may associate an impulse to 
loaf with some past mortification from class¬ 
room failure, and on deliberation one may 
choose to continue his study. The boy who can 
look ahead through the toils of student life to 
the honors of graduation, a remunerative sit¬ 
uation, and a position of honor and influence, 
will be less likely to yield to impulse, and more 
likely to continue to the end of his course. 

Will power, then, involves the power to look 
ahead. A strong will implies the power to look 
at actions, not as disconnected units, but as an 
organic system of means and ends in the ful¬ 
filment of a purpose. With a life purpose 
continuously and clearly in mind, a strong 
will is developed whose choices ever keep the 
path to attainment. The martyr conceives his 

122 


WILL, HABIT, AND CHARACTER 


suffering as having relation to the ultimate 
purpose in the mind of God, and, looking for¬ 
ward to the end of life and time and on into 
the life to come, chooses to be faithful unto 
death. 

Definition. The will is the self consciously 
and purposely directing itself. The self not 
only knows and feels, but also acts for an end. 
It is not a force outside of or independent of 
the self, but it is the self in purposive action. 
As the soul exercises itself in willing, it de¬ 
velops more and more in active power, and 
rises increasingly above the chance forces 
which induce to impulsive action, and becomes 
less and less the sport of changing circum¬ 
stances. Sustained and self-directed activity, 
work and not play, is the explanation of human 
progress. 

Analysis of Will. A girl leaves her recrea¬ 
tion of Saturday afternoon and proceeds to 
study her Sunday-school lesson for the mor¬ 
row. What are the steps involved? 

1. Feeling of more or less discomfort at the 
thought of her ignorance of the Bible, or the 
prospect of failure to make a good showing, or 
to meet the expectation of her teacher. 

2. Feeling of pleasure in the idea of the su- 

123 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


periority of the self in possession of the knowl¬ 
edge of the lesson. 

3. Feeling of desire to realize this ideal of 
the self, the consideration of which gives plea¬ 
sure. 

4. Deliberation. This is an act of judg¬ 
ment, which weighs the two alternatives—pres¬ 
ent pleasure in recreation and ultimate loss, 
or present study and ultimate satisfaction in 
duty done. 

5. Choice, in which she positively and fully 
identifies herself with all the consequences of 
lesson preparation. 

6. Action. With Bible, commentary, and 
reference books, she works till her task is done. 

Weak Wills. From the analysis of will it 
appears that a weak will may be accounted for 
in several ways: 

1. Lack of strong, active impulses. This 
condition is due sometimes to bodily weakness 
and low physical vitality. The child of active 
temperament is hopeful material for a strong 
will, and has the advantage in this respect over 
the child of intellectual or emotional tempera¬ 
ment. 

2. Weakness in image-forming capacity. 
The memory may be weak, and unable to recall 

124 


WILL, HABIT, AND CHARACTER 


past acts and their consequences. Or the imag¬ 
ination may be weak, and unable to form a 
clear picture of one involved in the conse¬ 
quences of the act to which he is solicited. 

3. Weakness of desire. Desire accompanies 
ideas. Many have no desire for a knowledge 
of the Bible because they have no idea of the 
book as a wonderful literary masterpiece, a 
unique history, a philosophy of life, or a trans¬ 
former of character. To desire or crave an 
orange we must have an idea of what it is. 

Again, desire is weak through a failure to be¬ 
lieve that the object is attainable. No one can 
really desire to fly like a bird because he be¬ 
lieves it impossible. Some fail in their desire 
to be a Christian through failure to believe 
themselves included in the invitation or provi¬ 
sions. 

4. Weak intellect. He may not have the 
power of connected thought, little power of 
the association of ideas, of building up ideas 
into long trains or complex groups. Delibera¬ 
tion and choice require this power. 

Weakness of will is due sometimes not to any 
lack of mental ability, but to indolence and 
shiftlessness. 

Will Culture. A boy performs many good 

125 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


and useful things, and possibly does none of 
them of his free will and choice. His activities 
are well directed, but not by himself. Some 
time later, however, he is overtaken on the 
street, and urged to attend a questionable 
place of amusement, without expense to him¬ 
self. Curiosity to see, fear to offend his older 
companion, the example of others—all are 
strong solicitations; but he politely declines 
the invitation, and continues on his way alone. 
Here we see will in the making. He chose to 
do what he thought was right, to keep his own 
self-respect, and to do this for the love he had 
for those who loved him. If we are to do any¬ 
thing worth while for our pupils we must 
reach their wills, train them in self-direction, 
train them to make decisions and choices for 
the right, in spite of solicitations, away from 
us, alone, in the dark. 

Means of Training. The starting-point is a 
bundle of impulses, the goal a well-ordered life. 

1. Exercise the impulses. Instead of at¬ 
tempting to eradicate them, regulate them in 
orderly programs. Plan much to do. Do not 
plan for a child the work or ways of a man, 
but let all things be done orderly. 

2. Enrich the intellect. Store the mind 

126 


WILL, HABIT, AND CHARACTER 


with ideas. Let them be well-connected and 
organized. Set forth conduct in its relations 
and ideals. Find standards of value in the 
conduct of Bible characters. Discover with 
the class that the Bible is the great authority 
on behavior. Build into the child-mind the 
great ideas of resistance to temptation, sacri¬ 
fice, and of service. 

3. Stimulate desire. Set forth the life of 
Christ, dominated by a settled purpose, as the 
happy life. Make the life free from the insan¬ 
ity of sin seem desirable. Make the patient, 
purposeful life of service appear attractive. 
Make prominent the joys of salvation. } Dwell 
on the present pleasures of salvation and the 
rewards eternal. 

4. Urge the matter of choices. The habit 
of too prolonged deliberation paralyzes the 
will. Consider fully, then decide. Urge your 
pupils to choose Christ. Urge immediate de¬ 
cision. The sad result of postponing decision, 
after the judgment is convinced, is moral 
atrophy and paralysis. 

5. Follow choice by action. Impress the pu¬ 
pil with the value of the prompt performance 
of things after reason has shown the way. The 
Sunday-school teacher should urge the pupils 

127 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


to begin at once the performance of the Chris¬ 
tian virtues, the exercises of public worship 
and private devotion. The lapsing of religious 
life usually begins in failure to do the things 
intended, and recognized as duty. 

Training of the Will. The power of the will, 
then, is the power of self-direction. To train 
the will of pupils is to secure in them the 
power of sustained effort to the attainment of 
a future goal, to subordinate the lower to the 
higher impulses, to resist temptation, and to 
lead them to self-control. To do this is eminent 
service, and is to attain the end of all educa¬ 
tion. 

Desire Necessary. The training of the will 
involves, first, the development of desire. We 
must want to do a thing before we can will to 
do it. The strength of will is measured by the 
strength of desire. Desire is the craving un¬ 
rest for an object which we believe will give 
us pleasurable satisfaction and in its relation 
to the will is fundamental. 

An Illustration. The will to secure an edu¬ 
cation depends upon the creating of a desire 
for it. The following method might be fol¬ 
lowed in creating in the mind of a youth such 
a desire. A teacher would recall some past oc- 

128 


WILL, HABIT, AND CHARACTER 


casions when the young man failed to secure a 
lucrative position through lack of qualifica¬ 
tions, or some other embarrassing experience 
due to lack of knowledge or culture. He 
would refer also to the satisfaction which 
would result from the education—a better sal¬ 
ary, a wider influence, more friends, greater 
power, or fame, or ability to do good. The 
teacher would picture the youth in the pulpit, 
on the judge’s bench, or in the professor’s 
chair. He would awaken feeling by appealing 
to the love of friends, or to the love of parents, 
or to the disastrous consequences of failure to 
reach up to his possibilities. The desire would 
be further strengthened by the recital of ex¬ 
amples of those who persevered through col¬ 
lege and became eminent. From such a pre¬ 
sentation of considerations, it is likely that the 
desire for an education will be implanted or re¬ 
enforced. In the creation of desire there is in¬ 
volved the processes of memory and imagina¬ 
tion, feeling, and a clear idea of the objects, 
the lack of which gives him pain, and pros¬ 
pective realization of which fills him with gen¬ 
uine pleasure. 

The creation and strengthening of desire 
proceed according to well-defined principles, 

129 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


and the teacher who understands these will 
succeed, where others fail, in helping his pupil 
to desire the very best. 

Deliberate Choice. The training of the will 
involves also the cultivation of the power of 
choice. Desire is a tension of the mind caused 
by a consideration of two or more possible ob¬ 
jects of choice. An act of will implies the care¬ 
ful weighing of the various desirabilities and 
finally accepting one to the exclusion of the 
rest. The act of choice identifies one’s self 
with a particular object and the acts required 
to secure it. The choice of an education iden¬ 
tifies one with the superior knowledge and all 
the effort necessary to acquire it. The act of 
choice is followed by the actual effort to secure 
the object. 

Cautions. The teacher should see that the 
mind of the pupil does not remain in a state of 
desire. Desire that does not pass on to choice 
degenerates into fruitless wishing. He should 
see also that the youth develops the disposition 
to deliberate and thus avoid the evils of impul¬ 
sive action. On the other hand, he must warn 
against too prolonged deliberation. If the 
judgment is too long suspended, it results in 
habitual indecision and weakness of character. 

130 


WILL, HABIT, AND CHARACTER 


Also, when the act of choice is once deter¬ 
mined upon, action should not be deferred. 

The most important choice which the teacher 
has the opportunity of urging is that of accept¬ 
ing Christ and entering upon a Christian life. 
In doing so, he should present the highest mo¬ 
tives and appeal to the noblest aspirations. He 
should be such an example of the superiority 
of Christian character that the memory of his 
words and life will keep alive in every pupil’s 
heart a strong desire to be right with God even 
in strong temptations and* after the lapse of 
many years. 

The Law of Habit. In studying will and 
action, we come upon a law of our being that is 
full of significance. We refer to the law of 
habit. 

An action once performed tends to repeat 
itself. Habit is the tendency for one to act 
as he has acted before. This tendency, weak 
and imperceptible at first, is later strong and 
irresistible. It enables one to perform the cus¬ 
tomary acts of life with machine-like regular¬ 
ity. By the age of thirty he has fashioned the 
grooves in which his life will run. From this 
time, says one, ninety-nine one hundredths of 
all a man does he does automatically. “The 

131 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


character has set like plaster, and will never 
soften again.” 

Formation of Habit. Some habits are formed 
unconsciously. They grow out of our work or 
the necessities of our lives. Others come from 
specific acts of will. First efforts are made 
with difficulty; they require attention and con¬ 
stant putting forth of will. Later it is neces¬ 
sary only to start the process and it moves on¬ 
ward to the end automatically. The first ef¬ 
forts to play the piano require constant atten¬ 
tion and continual putting forth of will. Later 
it becomes mechanical and in the case even of 
a difficult selection, there is required only the 
initial act of will to start the process, and mel¬ 
ody follows almost automatically until the end 
is reached. Action repeated modifies nerve 
structures, and the law of habit writes itself 
in every part and organ of the body. 

Habit has been called the tissue of life. The 
kind of habits, therefore, determines the qual¬ 
ity of the tissue. The culture and power of an 
individual are an indication of the extent to 
which his life has become automatic. The man 
who has made the highest attainments in char¬ 
acter and action is the one with the most hab¬ 
its of the best kind. 


132 


WILL, HABIT, AND CHARACTER 


In Sunday-school. The time is short to be 
sure, only a short session on one day in seven. 
But a teacher may insist upon the homely vir¬ 
tues of punctuality and regularity. He may 
teach the great importance of forming right 
habits. He may assist the pupil in forming 
habitual attitudes toward Bible study and re¬ 
ligious truth. 

Formation of Good Habits. The following 
are the maxims given by Professor James for 
the acquisition of good habits: 

1. We must take care to launch ourselves 
with as strong and decided initiative as pos¬ 
sible. 

2. Never suffer an exception to occur till 
the new habit is securely rooted in your life. 

3. Seize the first possible opportunity to 
act upon every resolution you make and on 
every emotional prompting you may experi¬ 
ence in the direction of the habits you aspire 
to gain. 

4. Keep the faculty of effort alive within 
you by a little gratuitous exercise every day. 

Will and Character. Single acts of will 
harden into habits of will. The sum total of 
our habits of will constitute our character. A 
cultivated power of self-direction is strong 

133 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


character. Character is another name for 
power and efficiency. What we are, what our 
pupils are, is of supreme importance, as what 
we are fixes what we shall be. Character de¬ 
termines destiny. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. Can a child who is not allowed to exercise 
choice develop a strong will? 

2. How may training contribute to will-power? 

3. What is the difference between power of will 
and obstinacy? 

4. What does James mean by “gratuitous exer¬ 
cise”? 

5. Draw contrast between a “strong” and a 
“weak” character. 


134 


XII 


THE BEGINNERS 

From a consideration of the mind and its 
activities, we proceed to the study of the vari¬ 
ous stages in the development of the individ¬ 
ual. It is an observed fact that the child 
passes through well defined stages in his life 
history. This fact is of the utmost significance 
to the teacher. 

Grades in the Sunday-school. The primary 
periods of life are well understood to be child- 
hood, the period of play, sense perception, im¬ 
itation and acquisitiveness; youth, the period 
of intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and social 
awakening; manhood, the period of developed 
powers and real accomplishment. These pri¬ 
mary periods are capable of subdivision into 
secondary periods. These divisions, deter¬ 
mined by the laws of physical and mental 
growth, furnish a natural basis for the grad¬ 
ing of pupils. 

In the Sunday-school, the following grades 
are approved: 


135 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


I. 


II. 


hi. 


Children’s Division 

1. The Cradle Roll 

2. Beginners 

3. Primary 

4. Junior 

Young People’s Division 

1. Intermediate 

2. Senior 

3. Young People 
Adult Division 

1. Organized Class 

2. Parents’ Class 

3. Home Department 


From Birth to 3 
3,4,5 
6, 7,8 
9,10,11 

• 12,13,14 
15,16,17 
18-24 


Characteristics of Beginners. The babies up 
to three years of age constitute the Cradle 
Roll. Attention to the babies by specially ap¬ 
pointed visitors in the way of calls, friendly 
inquiries, and small attentions, will do much 
to interest the parents and attract them to the 
Sunday-school and other church services. 

At the age of three the child appears at the 
door of the Sunday-school to enter upon such 
course of instruction as it has to offer. This 
is a momentous occasion. It should be made 
impressive by appropriate exercises. He and 
others who come in at this time are recognized 
as Beginners. It is their first venture into the 
great mysterious world. Upon the first im¬ 
pressions received here much will depend. 

136 


THE BEGINNERS 


Some of the prominent characteristics of Be¬ 
ginners are noted: 

1. Restlessness. Activity is a necessity of 
child nature. Most of this activity is impul¬ 
sive, spontaneous, or undirected movements. 
To be still for more than a short time is a phys¬ 
ical impossibility. Movement is nature’s meth¬ 
od to strengthen the muscles, train the senses, 
and develop the will. The teacher’s oppor¬ 
tunity is not to repress, but to direct this ac¬ 
tivity to purposeful ends. 

2. Active Sense-Perception. The eager crav¬ 
ing for knowledge finds its point of contact 
with the outside world in the senses. See¬ 
ing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting 
are the gateways of knowledge. The objects 
of sense are to the child the supreme objects 
of interest. The objects of sight and touch 
are the most important for knowledge. 

3. Imagination. With a mental life that 
craves exercise and is exceedingly responsive 
to stimulation, the Beginners furnished as yet 
with a limited store of facts, are possessed of 
an imagination which is active and fanciful. 
It invests their minds and their lives with a 
glory and dream. A cane becomes a prancing 
steed, a rude cart a warrior’s chariot or the 

137 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


finest auto, a play house a mansion, and some 
common trinkets wealth untold. The bare out¬ 
line of a common story is filled in with a wealth 
of materials which seem exhaustless. The same 
story will be different each time it is told, and 
can be depended upon to arouse interest and 
command attention. Even in this early period 
it opens up visions and builds ideals which 
will beautify and enrich the later life. 

4. Credulity. The child, at first, believes all 
that is told him. He has no contrary experi¬ 
ence. He accepts the story of Santa Claus as 
readily as that of Samuel. There are no child 
skeptics. Hence the ease with which spiritual 
truth may be imparted. Care must be taken 
lest error creep into the child’s heart and 
abide there as securely as truth itself. The 
child’s soul is hallowed ground. Let us plant 
it deeply with the Word of God. 

5. Imitation. One of the strong instincts 
of childhood is the tendency to imitate others. 
The child imitates the parents, the teachers, 
and other persons who enter into his world. 
Thus grooves of action are formed called hab¬ 
its. What the child imitates, whether good or 
bad, enters, more or less permanently, into the 
structure of his life. The power of example is 

138 


THE BEGINNERS 


tremendous. Suggestion is a more potent prin¬ 
ciple in education than is generally supposed. 
The conduct of the teacher, her words, her 
dress, her manners, her spirit, all offer sugges¬ 
tions which tend to work out in life and char¬ 
acter. 

6. Limited Vocabulary. This is an impor¬ 
tant consideration all through the Sunday- 
school. But to the Beginner it is all impor¬ 
tant. His stock of words is small. Many 
words of common use mean nothing to him. A 
child who sang again and again the familiar 
words, “Safe into the haven guide,” thought 
that a “haven-guide” must be a beautiful 
place. Again, the meaning is not always com¬ 
prehended even where the separate words may 
be understood. A mother taught her child a 
Bible verse to be repeated in Sunday-school. 
The child insisted to the teacher that the verse 
was, “Come in, darling.” Upon inquiry, it 
was found to be, “Walk in love.” One little 
fellow reported that his class had sung, 
“Bringing in the Sheets.” He said, “They 
sewed in the morning and they sewed at noon 
and they brought in the sheets at night.” It 
is a fine art to be simple enough to teach a 
child. 


139 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


Methods with Beginners. The characteris¬ 
tics of the Beginners suggest appropriate 
methods in their training. 

1. The room. The Beginners should have a 
separate room if possible. A separate room 
guards against distractions. The room in it¬ 
self may be highly valuable for suggestion. 
The room must meet the child’s physical needs, 
such as light, air, and suitable tables and 
chairs. It should meet the mental needs, and 
contain a sand table, a blackboard, scissors, 
colored papers, and other materials for hand 
work. It should meet the spiritual needs. Re¬ 
ligious pictures such as “The Nativity,’ ’ 
* ‘ Christ Blessing the Children, ’ ’ and ‘ ‘ The 
Good Shepherd” may adorn the walls. These 
help to emphasize the teaching of God’s good¬ 
ness and care. The spirit of the room should 
not be constrained. The atmosphere must be 
free, easy, natural, hopeful, helpful, and rev¬ 
erent. 

2. The Lesson. As preliminary there will 
be the greetings, dignified yet warm and cor¬ 
dial. The songs will be suited to the age and 
comprehension. The prayer will be short 
and simple, made up of adoration, thanksgiv¬ 
ing for blessings bestowed, and petitions which 

140 


THE BEGINNERS 


the children can understand and feel. The 
lesson story will be a vivid narration. This 
will be supplemented with very simple hand 
work of some kind, cutting, drawing, or past¬ 
ing. Marching songs and motion songs have 
their place. The aim of the whole program 
is to direct the child-mind to his heavenly Fa¬ 
ther, that he may love Him and know Him. 

• 3. The music. The importance of music 
can hardly be over-estimated. It exerts a sub¬ 
tle power over the mind, the feelings, and the 
will. It is expressive of the emotions as words 
can never be. Children are particularly re¬ 
sponsive to music. The songs of childhood are 
long remembered. By the aid of music, ideas 
reach the understanding; musical taste is cul¬ 
tivated; a means is provided to express and 
cultivate the feelings; and a force is intro¬ 
duced which strongly appeals to ambition and 
to the will. The rhythm of music lies deep in 
the substrata of our being. Children enjoy the 
rhythm of movement, which finds expression 
in marching songs and motion songs. 

The songs should be selected to enforce the 
lesson of the day. There are songs of thanks¬ 
giving, prayer songs, songs of praise, and songs 
expressive of love, kindness, and goodness. 

141 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


Songs may be lined and explained that the chil¬ 
dren may “sing with the understanding.” The 
songs should have musical and literary merit, 
and the best should be committed to memory. 

Results to be Attained. In such an atmos¬ 
phere there should be the beginnings of rever¬ 
ence. The name of God will beget feelings of 
respect. To enter the house of God will en¬ 
gender awe. The virtues of obedience, kind¬ 
ness, patience, politeness, and some regard for 
others will be cultivated. Prayer and praise 
will introduce the child to God, and contrition 
for disobedience to parent or teacher will be¬ 
come very real and bring rest and peace. A 
general attitude toward God and the usage of 
religion is established, and general impres¬ 
sions, though hardly perceptible, are made. 

The Teacher. With Beginners, much care 
must be exercised in the selection of the 
teacher. Other classes may receive instruction 
from books and papers, but to Beginners the 
teacher must furnish it all. The greatest re¬ 
sults in education come to the learner as a con¬ 
sequence of contact with noble personality. 

The teacher of Beginners will have that 
equipment of love, sympathy, patience, tact, 
and overflowing, out-going wisdom and good- 

142 


THE BEGINNERS 


ness that contributes to personality; that sub¬ 
tle, indefinable combination of strength and 
beauty that attracts, and charms, and inspires. 
The best natural equipment, however, is insuf¬ 
ficient. Spiritual equipment is all essential. 
There must be genuine spiritual life that grows 
out of a real contact with God, and fellowship 
with Him in the Word, in prayer, and in med¬ 
itation. Communion with God will give a 
vision of the glorious possibilities of the work, 
an overcoming love for it, and a sincere deter¬ 
mination to succeed in it. The teacher of Be¬ 
ginners is working where life begins. The rev¬ 
elation of God to them must be simple and the 
bread of life must be made small. 

“The bread that comes from heaven needs finest 
breaking, 

Remember this, 

All ye who offer for the children’s taking, 

Nor give amiss. 

The desert manna, like to coriander 
With honey taste, 

Was gathered at the word of the commander 
With cautious haste. 

A small round thing and not in loaves for eating, 
The manna fell. 

Each day the wondrous miracle repeating, 

As records tell. 

143 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


“So make it small—this bread of God, life giving— 
The child is small, 

Unskilled in all the strange, great art of living, 
Which baffles all. 

Be mindful of the little ones, and feed them 
With living bread; 

But break it for them, as you gently lead them 
To Christ, the Head. 

With skill and pains and loving forethought tender, 
Provide the fare. 

Remember that their powers at best are slender, 

For whom you care. 

Young souls, immortal, claim your constant tending; 
To these be true. 

Be sure to give the bread from heaven descending, 
Naught else will do. 

Mix not with earthly things which cause distraction, 
This bread divine, 

The Word itself has infinite attraction, 

So break it fine. 

Nor let them lose for any selfish reason 
Their measure due; 

Remember, for their portion in due season 
They look to you.” 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. A list of pictures suitable for Beginners. 

2. Music program for Beginners. 

3. The tendency of some individual child to imi¬ 
tation. 

4. Equipment for a Beginners’ room. 

144 


XIII 


THE PRIMARY AGE 

The Primary classes include children from 
six to eight years of age. During this period 
the children are entering the public schools 
and getting their first lessons in systematic 
study. Their ideas are multiplying rapidly on 
account of their new associates and surround- 
ings. These considerations, growing out of 
their expanding powers, require for the pri¬ 
mary children special study and treatment. 

Physical Characteristics. The transition 
from the Beginners’ to the Primary age is not 
specially marked. Physical growth is rapid, 
and toward the close of the period the brain 
attains nearly its full size. A loss of vigorous 
health sometimes appears. The child seems 
tired and nervous, and unable to do the work 
of earlier years. He should have nutritious 
food and more hours for sleep. 

Perceptive Powers and Reason. Perception 
is quicker and more definite. The child is in¬ 
terested in much that was unnoticed before. 

145 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


During this period he begins to reason about 
the things he sees, but little in the abstract. 
He will not remain long on a problem unless 
it relates to his activity. It is the age of puz¬ 
zles and conundrums. The study of Bible 
geography may be made interesting by the use 
of dissected maps. The awakening power of 
reason makes the child less credulous. He will 
sometimes criticise the actions of others. If 
the teacher does not know her lesson, he may 
discover the fact. The impatient frown, the 
slight variation from truth, will not escape his 
notice. However, he respects authority and 
readily yields to it, if the one exercising it has 
won his respect and love. 

Memory. The memory is stronger than for¬ 
merly, though not yet at its height. Bible 
verses and longer selections may profitably be 
committed to memory, together with hymns 
and memory gems, and these should have some 
relation to the present needs of the child. 

Curiosity. Curiosity is wide awake and per¬ 
sistent. The primary child is anxious to know 
why, and desires certainty in what is told him. 
He sees more because he knows more, and 
questions more eagerly because he sees so much 
that he does not understand. Questions about 

146 


THE PRIMARY AGE 


life and creation and God and the unseen 
world are the result of his constantly widen¬ 
ing environment. It is no small task to answer 
a child’s why and when and how, but it must 
be done. If the home and Sunday-school neg¬ 
lect this all-important fact, less worthy agen¬ 
cies will perform our work for us, and we shall 
learn too late that they have won the childish 
confidence, which we so much desire to enjoy. 

Attention. At this age the child can attend 
more easily than in the Beginners’ age, and if 
the teacher can catch his attention, by sugges¬ 
tive sign, word or act, it may be possible to in¬ 
terest him for some moments in gospel truth. 
The Bible story will hold attention more easily 
if it corresponds to some part of the life of the 
child. 

Imagination. The imagination is now more 
nearly under control. The child is still capa¬ 
ble of creating fanciful worlds and telling long 
stories just as they come to him. But there is 
a more distinct difference between his real 
world and the world of fancy. A. R. Taylor, 
in the “Study of the Child,” tells of a little 
maiden, who quietly informed her mother, who 
had spent some moments calling her, though 
she had been lying in the grass nearby, that 

147 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


she was playing cow, and so, of course, could 
not hear. The child will construct his imag¬ 
inary world with the materials he has on hand. 
If the pure and good has been his environment, 
his imagination will work along the same line. 
“Let’s play we are keeping house,” “Let's 
pretend we’re robbers,” “Let’s be Filipinos,” 
are expressions reflecting his daily life. Two 
little friends were once found carrying on a 
conversation with spools and buttons, and ex¬ 
plained that the buttons were children and the 
spools were angels who were coming down to 
bear the children to heaven. This power of the 
imagination makes it possible for the Bible 
story to become real to the child, and for the 
love and presence of Jesus to become part of 
his life. 

The Social Instinct. The social instinct is 
now awakening. The Primary child usually 
has his chum. He is becoming interested in 
other places and times. The Beginners “King¬ 
dom of Now” is gradually widening into the 
world of long ago and the realms of every¬ 
where. Ideas of sympathy, self-sacrifice and 
service may be cultivated by example and 
story. The thought of Jesus leaving His beau¬ 
tiful home and His heavenly friends will 

148 


THE PRIMARY AGE 


awaken thought and bring response. The acts 
of others become a growing interest. 

Affection. The Primary child loves his 
teacher. She is the ideal in his small eyes of 
all that is heavenly, wise and good. If this 
confidence is never shaken and this affection 
continues, her influence over his life may be 
almost unbounded. She is interested in all 
that interests him, and his constant delight is 
to please her and merit her approval. This 
pure and childish love is the inspiration of the 
primary class. 

Childhood Religion. The child has a relig¬ 
ious nature. This is a divine endowment. Be¬ 
fore the parent or the teacher begins his work, 
God has wrought. He has preempted the heart 
for Himself. He has laid down in the consti¬ 
tution of every child a moral nature and relig¬ 
ious impulses, which condition and presup¬ 
pose his entire religious life and development. 
The human soul everywhere reaches out to¬ 
ward God, and “is restless until it finds rest 
in Him.” 

The aim of the teacher in dealing with child 
life is the development of the religious im¬ 
pulses, and the creation in the heart of con¬ 
scious spiritual life. The object is always 

149 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


Christian character, but the method neces¬ 
sarily varies with different ages. It must have 
regard to the changing capacities and needs of 
the child. Childhood religion is different from 
adult religion. The latter is concerned with 
theological doctrine, the former with practical 
action. 

While conversion can never be less than a 
new birth from above, inwrought by the opera¬ 
tion of the Holy Spirit, it must not be ex¬ 
pected that the change in the child will be pre¬ 
cisely what it would be in the case of an adult. 
The life of a child can be turned easily. His 
feelings are easily moved upon. He responds 
readily to the truth. His will, however, is 
weak. The parent and teacher must constantly 
assist him to perform his little duties, and in 
case of failure, through temper or otherwise, 
must find the mercy-seat with the little one and 
quickly win him back to repentance and res¬ 
toration. 

The spiritual life of a child requires care 
and culture. It is a tender plant and will suf¬ 
fer from neglect. How many little ones have 
fallen by the wayside and been left to die. 
Happy the child that knows the secret place 
of prayer with mother, and has felt the warm 

150 


THE PRIMARY AGE 


tears drop on his upturned face as mother 
prayed for him, and tried to keep his little feet 
in the path of life. 

Children very early experience a spiritual 
hunger. They take naturally to the thought 
of God. They find it easy to pray. They are 
trustful, simple, and sincere. But they appre¬ 
hend slowly a spiritual conception of God. 
They do not comprehend religion in its intel¬ 
lectual aspect. The higher religious emotions 
of sympathy, self-sacrifice, mercy, and repent¬ 
ance, are undeveloped. Childhood is the period 
of activity; hence the religion of this period 
must be essentially action—religious deeds. 

Religious training for children under six 
years will consist in inculcating the habit of 
prayer and of prompt obedience; in familiar¬ 
izing them with the customs of religion; in 
providing associations with other children, and 
suggesting unselfish acts; and in directing all 
their activities in the spirit of religion, the 
spirit of kindness and of love. 

From six to ten is a critical period in the 
religious history of a child. During this period 
he realizes more and more his own individual¬ 
ity. He develops gradually the moral judg¬ 
ment or conscience. He shares in the activities 

151 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


of the family and has a growing interest in hu¬ 
man life, in the acts and adventures of others. 
The awakening of the soul is attended by deep 
heart stirrings. The pleasures and pains at¬ 
tending the first exercise of conscience are 
keen. Belief in God and the supernatural is 
strong and abiding. 

In this early period when, it is so easy to 
pray the child should be helped to form the 
habit of prayer. Daily prayer at regular times 
should be an essential part of the program of 
his life. The habit of genuine prayer is the 
starting-point of spiritual religion, and will in¬ 
sure a spiritual life. As the child’s needs 
increase, the parent should help him in the ex¬ 
pression of his petitions. A child began his 
prayer one Sabbath evening in language much 
beyond his years, “Lord, we thank Thee for 
the sanctuary and for sanctuary privileges.” 
Others have tried to pray but their efforts have 
ended in mute embarrassment and sore dis¬ 
couragement. These attempts are pathetic ap¬ 
peals for help and originate in a need as real 
as that which prompted the disciples to say, 
“Teach us to pray.” 

As the sense of self increases, it should be 
fed by increased fellowship with his parents. 

152 


THE PRIMARY AGE 


They should be his companions in work and 
play and worship. This sharing in their ac¬ 
tivities will strengthen and guide the child in 
his developing sense of personality. Religious 
training will secure respect for authority. This 
may be secured by the parent who deals with 
the child firmly but kindly, without caprice or 
arbitrariness, and who himself respects and 
obeys laws. 

The habitual respect for parental authority 
and obedience to law is a most important prep¬ 
aration for the full submission to the will of 
God. The child’s growing interest in persons, 
his tendency to estimate them, to approve and 
to condemn, suggest the importance of feeding 
his mind and soul on the best stores of litera¬ 
ture, and especially of the Bible. Train him 
to admire the persons who use power rightly, 
and to condemn the base and selfish. Good 
stories will go far in this period toward shap¬ 
ing the ideals of his life. 

The Sunday-school should not only teach 
the children religious truth but also from time 
to time press them into a decision to surrender 
their little lives fully to Jesus. Decision days 
should be frequent. Next should be arranged 
those special services for the children at which 

153 


\ 





THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 

they can have the opportunity to pray and 
sing and speak for Jesus in their own little 
way. If they try to imitate their elders, it will 
be mere performance, but if they are helped to 
a natural expression of their religious life it 
will strengthen them for the service of prayer 
and testimony in coming years. 

A great responsibility is upon the church to 
provide and maintain such a service. No one 
feels quite so much at home with God as he 
who has from early childhood talked familiarly 
with Him and about Him. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. The transition from home to school. 

2. How the school develops the social nature. 

3. Evidences of the religious nature of children. 

4. Teaching a child to pray. 

5. Instances of children becoming converted. 


154 


XIV 


THE JUNIOR AGE 

The Junior period is the period of boyhood 
and girlhood which extends to about the 
twelfth year. It is a time of increasing inter¬ 
est in the activities of the family, a growing 
sense of responsibility, and an enlarging social 
sense which manifests itself in the tendency to 
form groups and team-plays. 

General Characteristics. The Junior is wide 
awake. He is healthy, energetic, frank, and 
possesses an excellent appetite both physical 
and mental. He is on good terms with the 
world, enjoys life, believes in his friends, is 
willing generally to do his part, and wishes, 
above all things, to become a man. 

Conscience Building. William Byron For- 
bush says, “The principal thing a boy has to 
do before twelve is to grow a conscience. ’ ’ Be¬ 
fore the Junior age the child has been under 
obedience. He is still under the authority of 
others; but apart from this, he feels a growing 
sense of personal responsibility. He must do 

155 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


some things and leave others undone, not be¬ 
cause he has been directed thus but because he 
feels it to be right. It is now that he learns to 
obey himself, to measure up to his own grow¬ 
ing sense of oughtness. 

Delight in Ownership. The Junior possesses 
a strong sense of ownership. The youth wishes 
now to have his own room, his own desk, his 
own box for the storing of his treasures. The 
mysterious depths of his pocket reveal a wealth 
of nails, strings, stones, buttons, spools, and 
fish-hooks, riches of field and wood and spring. 
Well it is if nothing less innocent finds its way 
thither. A girl has her box of cards and pic¬ 
tures and dainty handkerchiefs and childish 
fancy-work. And these are valuable to the 
child, and the right to possess them should be 
respected. The Sunday-school may utilize this 
disposition by encouraging the collection of 
Bible pictures and curios from Bible or mis¬ 
sionary lands. Maps and charts may be con¬ 
structed which should become the permanent 
possession of the child. A Bible should also be¬ 
come his own property. 

Memory. This is the golden age of memory. 
At no other time can the child absorb so much 
and remember so well much that will help him 

156 


THE JUNIORS 


in present temptations and difficulties. Much 
also that we know he will need later can be 
memorized. It is the time for constant repeti¬ 
tion and drill. The Junior’s memory should be 
literally filled with spiritual truth from which 
he can draw in the emergencies of the future. 
Hymns, Bible selections, whole chapters care¬ 
fully selected, and facts regarding Bible geog¬ 
raphy and history should be accurately com¬ 
mitted to memory. Much that is not now un¬ 
derstood will be revealed to the larger reason 
in later experience, and will present a bulwark 
of strength against the coming storms of temp¬ 
tation and doubt. “It is a sin for parents and 
teachers to allow the children to pass this 
period without literally saturating them with 
outlines of Old and New Testament history 
and many of the choicest passages of the Bi¬ 
ble.” 

Reading Craze. During this age the child 
develops an intense love for reading. Read he 
must and will. He desires to widen his experi¬ 
ence. He craves to know the world beyond the 
limits of his acquaintance. He seeks introduc¬ 
tion into a world of larger performance than 
his own. Hence stories of adventure, of re¬ 
markable achievements of heroes and heroines, 

157 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


appeal to his superabundant life. Some of the 
most thrilling stories of adventure are found 
in the Bible and in the annals of missionary 
life. The stories of Paton or Livingstone or 
Mackay can not be surpassed in sustained in¬ 
terest and dramatic power. But the child will 
not always find them without some assistance. 
It is largely a question of what is conveniently 
at hand. If the child is surrounded by an 
abundance of the best literature, adapted to 
his age, he is not likely to search for that which 
is harmful. If he is encamped beside the wells 
of Elim, he will not spend much time in search¬ 
ing for the bitter waters of Marah. By select¬ 
ing their books for them, a parent or teacher 
may give the boys and girls correct views of 
life, and help them to an understanding of 
their responsibility to the family, the commu¬ 
nity, to the church, and to the heathen world. 
What is real enters into the mental and moral 
life and becomes potent in the development of 
character. 

Hero Worship, Ideals. From an early age 
the child has been forming ideals. At first 
they were members of his own family. As his 
horizon widens, teachers and those who are 
more distant in time and space live in the 

158 


THE JUNIORS 


shrine of his heart. Now he is beginning to 
value moral character and his hero may be 
good as well as great. But he must be strong 
and skilful and able to accomplish things. 
Here, too, the environment will influence the 
character of the ideal. It is said that any peo¬ 
ple will become like the god which they wor¬ 
ship ; so any child will become transformed in¬ 
to the likeness of those whom he admires. The 
parents and teachers should always be heroic 
in the heart of the child. Yet their lives may 
be too ordinary and commonplace to meet fully 
the demands of the eager, aspiring life. The 
great and good of this and other times, those 
who have made great sacrifices and done deeds 
of might, should be ever before the child. Later 
he will learn to admire the greatness of every¬ 
day heroism. Nowhere can be found such a 
Hall of Fame as in the Word of God. What 
child will not become intensely interested in 
the history of Joseph, or in the boldness of 
Daniel; or in the dangers and courage and suc¬ 
cess of Esther, or the exaltation of the cup¬ 
bearer of King Artaxerxes? It is said that 
less than five per cent of children choose Bible 
characters as their ideals. Would not a suf¬ 
ficient acquaintance with sacred history rem- 

159 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 

edy this defect? The Bible abounds with the 
more attractive ideals of life and action. 

Children will find other lines of interest. To 
lead the child to admire any character, how¬ 
ever excellent, will be of little value unless in 
that excellence he discovers the stamp of the 
Divine. As all the Roman roads lead to the 
Imperial City, so all Bible teachings must lead 
to the Savior of men. Jesus is the perfect 
ideal. The children must be constantly led to 
see not only the Divine Lord but the perfect 
man Jesus Christ. 

Habits. This is the habit-forming period. 
In earlier years the child has acted mostly 
from instinct and imitation. Now he is to 
form those habits of thinking and acting which 
constitute 1 ‘ nine-tenths of life. ’ ’ Now each act 
is tracing more deeply the tiny paths in the 
delicate brain-cells over which the thoughts 
and doings of later years shall find easy pas¬ 
sage. How shall the Sunday-school assist the 
child in forming correct habits? 

The Junior boy or girl is all life and inter¬ 
est. If the act desired can be made attractive, 
if it can be secured by an appeal to the grow¬ 
ing sense of right, or to the desire to be manly 
or womanly, both of which are now strong, a 

1G0 


THE JUNIORS 


much greater service has been done than if the 
act is secured simply by a command. If the 
child performs the desired act because parent 
or teacher does it, or because the environment 
makes it the natural thing to do, it will prob¬ 
ably be repeated until a habit is formed. Thus 
the child will not only learn obedience but will 
be unconsciously slipping into correct forms of 
action invaluable in later life. Promptness, 
neatness, thoughtfulness of others, regular Bi¬ 
ble study and prayer, church attendance, sys¬ 
tematic offerings—all these the Sunday-school 
should endeavor to secure. 

The Social Instinct. The social instinct 
which in the preceding age was satisfied with 
a chum now demands the club or the gang. 
This spirit reaches its climax in the succeeding 
period. With girls this disposition manifests 
itself in more or less domestic ways. Boys 
usually seek a barn-loft or deserted cellar, a 
hollow tree or some self-constructed den or 
cave for their trysting-place. The glare of the 
bonfire, the roasted potatoes, the secret call, the 
kindred spirit—what boy does not know these 
delights? Boys and girls organize separately 
and are inclined to look with contempt upon 
the opposite sex. This suggests the separation 

161 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


of the sexes for the most effective Sunday- 
school work. The boy who thinks that the 
Sunday-school is “fit only for girls’’ may ac¬ 
quire a genuine interest if he is put into a class 
of real boys with some manly man as teacher 
who has not moved too far from his own boy¬ 
hood. A girl also, who is annoyed by those 
“horrid boys,” may do much better work in a 
class composed only of girls. Other things be¬ 
ing equal, a man will do better work with boys 
at this age and a woman with girls, because 
each approaches more nearly their ideals. 
Nothing, however, can take the place of a no¬ 
ble spirit and unselfish purpose, a sympathetic 
heart and a genuine acquaintance with the 
Lord Jesus Christ. The abounding life and the 
desire for society give splendid opportunity 
for social evenings with the teacher, for tramps 
and outings, in which the teacher can prove his 
interest in the members of the class apart from 
the Sunday-school hour. 

Religious Life. The purpose of the Sunday- 
school is to lead the pupils to God and to 
gather them into the church. This should be 
the purpose of every teacher and the end of 
every lesson. The Junior is at the age when 
he has assumed considerable responsibility for 

162 


THE JUNIORS 


his actions. He is capable of independent 
thought, and of noting the relation of cause 
and effect. He may be addressed, therefore, as 
accountable, and may be appealed to as a per¬ 
son responsible for the results of his choice. 
The Junior can see in his idealism the truth 
and beauty of the Christ-life. Appeal should 
be made to him, therefore, and every effort put 
forth to bring him to a personal knowledge of 
Christ as his Savior, and to an open confession 
of his faith and love. 

The religion of the Juniors might be called 
a religion largely of works. It finds expression 
in action, in service to their parents, to their 
class or church, to their fellows in play or 
work, to any who need help. It finds expres¬ 
sion also in submission to authority and obedi¬ 
ence ; in resisting evil and formation of right 
habits; in coming to God in prayer, and in 
church attendance. The importance and obli¬ 
gations of church membership may be ex¬ 
plained to those Juniors who are converted, 
and they should be encouraged solemnly to 
take the vows and unite with the church. 

Teaching Equipment. The Juniors should, 
if possible, have a separate room. The methods 
used with them are different, and a separate 

103 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


room will give greater freedom. Their abun¬ 
dant activity will find useful expression in ac¬ 
tion—songs, marching, drills, and note-book 
work. Coupled with their general frankness 
and good-will this activity may easily be con¬ 
verted into habits of service for the aged and 
infirm, and utilized along temperance and mis¬ 
sionary lines. However, the genuineness of the 
child of this age causes the boy, especially, to 
despise the “goody-goody” reputation, and 
some skill is required to avoid making this ap¬ 
pearance prominent. 

Presenting the Lesson. If a teacher wants 
an example in his personal experience of flat, 
dismal failure, let him try to teach a class of 
able-bodied Juniors without preparation. The 
next time, if there be one, he will have a well- 
thought-out plan. It will have a point of con¬ 
tact—something to arrest the attention and 
serve as an introduction to the lesson of the 
day. It may be an allusion to a local or na¬ 
tional event, a bit of history, perhaps a story, 
or a reference to some place of special interest. 
The transition to the lesson will be natural and 
easy. Then the lesson story, told by a member 
of the class or by the teacher. Then will fol¬ 
low informal discussion of the principal topics 

164 


THE JUNIORS 


or problems. This discussion will be appar¬ 
ently impromptu, but the teacher will direct 
the course of the discussion by questions 
thought out in advance so that the aim of the 
lesson may be reached. If topics have been 
assigned in advance, they will be called up. 
The teacher will be ready with one or two good 
illustrations. The application is important, 
but usually will not be too personal. The Jun¬ 
ior prefers to keep his inner life hidden. Be¬ 
neath a restless and inattentive exterior, men¬ 
tal and moral processes are in operation which 
will later issue in conduct. As supplementary 
to the lesson there is the memory work. With 
some cooperation many Scripture passages can 
be committed. Due commendation will be made 
for the memory work. Then there is the hand 
work. This may be of several types. The 
preparation of posters, of models, plans and 
drawings will appeal to the Juniors. The best 
will be referred to in the main school by the 
superintendent and put on display. The prep¬ 
aration of maps, flat and relief, geographical 
work on sand tables or in a sand pit will be of 
interest and profit, or written work of different 
kinds, such as a strong review of the lessons of 
the quarter, or stories of the leading charac- 

165 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


ters, such as the Life of Moses, Story of Jo¬ 
seph, Story of Elijah. The instructor will 
strive for results, for some increase of knowl¬ 
edge in the minds of his pupils. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. Lists of New Testament passages suitable for 
Junior memory work. 

2. Book lists for Juniors. 

3. How to direct a Junior in his religious life. 

4. A model presentation of the lesson. 

5. Suitable hand work. 


166 


XV 


THE INTERMEDIATE AGE 

At about twelve years of age, the child en¬ 
ters upon a series of physical and mental 
changes which transform the boy into a man, 
the girl into a woman. This period of trans¬ 
formation is called the period of adolescence. 
The intermediate age corresponds to early ad¬ 
olescence, including the years twelve, thirteen, 
and fourteen. 

Adolescence. The changes that take place 
at this period are important and fraught with 
great consequences. It has been compared to 
a new birth. The individual comes into pos¬ 
session of new bodily powers and functions. 
His intellectual capacity is enlarged, his emo¬ 
tional life deepened, and his moral and aesthetic 
sense developed. He becomes a larger factor 
in society, accepts social customs, selects a vo¬ 
cation, and makes a home. The thoughts, 
ideals, ambitions, and tendencies which con¬ 
trol him during this period will determine his 
after life. The way in which the new life finds 

167 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


encouragement and opportunity for expression 
leads to destiny. 

Physical Changes. This is the time when 
growth is most rapid. The heart, lungs, and 
arteries increase in size. The sense organs are 
strengthened. The brain and nervous system 
undergo changes. The bones and muscles grow 
rapidly, so that this becomes the awkward age. 
It is the period of puberty, said to be the great¬ 
est crisis between life and death. 

Mental Growth. Commensurate with the 
physical growth and changes, may be observed 
mental and emotional developments no less re¬ 
markable. Doubtless the new mental life grows 
out of the new physical life. As the physical 
growth and development seem to originate new 
desires, emotions, and impulses, so in the en¬ 
larging mental life, new questions, new ambi¬ 
tions, and new ideals occupy and perplex the 
mind. 

1. Self-Consciousness. The interests of the 
Adolescent now include not only the outside 
world of things and persons, but also himself 
in relation to the world of things and persons. 
He becomes very noticeably self-conscious. His 
attention is more fixed upon himself. He 
thinks everybody is observing him and think- 

168 


THE INTERMEDIATES 


ing of him as he is thinking of himself. This 
self-consciousness may manifest itself in ex¬ 
treme sensitiveness, timidity, and bashfulness. 
To appear in company is a miserj^, and to take 
part in a public program is a torture. Or this 
enlarging conception of self may appear as 
self-importance and self-assertion. He may 
exhibit, instead of a morbid sensitiveness, an 
exaggerated conceit which manifests itself in 
ridiculous braggadocio; in provoking, teasing, 
and domineering; in reckless rebellion against 
authority; stubbornness and wilfulness. This 
conceit of importance, of ability, and of knowl¬ 
edge, is hard for the teacher to meet wisely and 
well, and will call for great tact, perseverance, 
and patience. 

2. Constructive imagination. With the en¬ 
tering of the Adolescent into life, the mind ex¬ 
ercises itself in imagination of the constructive 
kind. He is the Joseph among his brothers, 
the seer of visions, and the dreamer of dreams. 
The humble but weightier matters of home and 
school life are exchanged for the beautiful 
constructs of the mind. They embody his 
hopes and aspirations. Some are evanescent 
and temporary. Others are more permanent. 
To these ideal embodiments of self in life ex- 

1G9 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


periences, in a vocation, and in character he 
ever recurs, and dwells in a land of plenty and 
of beauty. The source material of his dreams 
is supplied from the persons he meets, from 
the situations he knows, and from the books 
he reads. Thus it is that books are so great a 
power for good or evil. They supply the ma¬ 
terial for those ideal thought creations which 
seem so attractive, and which call so allur¬ 
ingly for realization in the life. 

3. The feelings. The two words that char¬ 
acterize the emotional life are intensity and 
instability. The feelings are strong—hardly 
ever neutral or judicial. They are also in a 
state of unstable equilibrium. Elation and 
discouragement alternate in quick succession. 
But out of this emotional instability there 
come later the higher emotions and the endur¬ 
ing sentiments. 

Social Life. During the period of adoles¬ 
cence, there arises a strong desire for com¬ 
panionship. Association means everything. 
Fellowship in play, in work, in study, in ad¬ 
venture, is sought and usually found. Partic¬ 
ipation in a social group calls out a sensitive 
regard for personal appearance. The boy, the 
girl, desires to look well. Their clothes receive 

170 


THE INTERMEDIATES 


more attention. Their looks are the object of 
much solicitude. The desire for appreciation 
and approbation is marked. There is the 
strong yearning to be noticed, which results in 
showing-off, pompous and exaggerated be¬ 
havior, and loudness of various kinds. Prob¬ 
lems growing out of this social life are: 

1. The club or gang. This craving for sym¬ 
pathy and social satisfaction leads both boys 
and girls to seek companionship with chums, 
and in close and sometimes secret groups, 
clubs or “gangs.” The gang is a company of 
kindred spirits of the same sex, organized for 
some definite activities, for team-plays—defen¬ 
sive or offensive. The gang instinct is essen¬ 
tially social, and is at this period normal. The 
active and daring spirit enforced by the se¬ 
cret organization of the clan sometimes leads 
to various forms of mischief. If the boys are 
left too much to themselves, and their demands 
for social activity are misunderstood, they too 
often form pernicious habits and drift into 
the criminal class through lack of sufficient 
satisfaction for their natural desire for socia¬ 
bility and freedom. The wise parent and 
teacher will not attempt to suppress the gang 
spirit, but to utilize it in teaching the lessons 

171 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


of self-control, cooperative effort and Christian 
altruism. 

2. Truancy. The aspiration and blissful 
idealism of this period cause many youths to be 
discontented with school life. Truancy is the 
worst at thirteen, and fourteen is the age when 
most pupils permanently leave school. To 
many there comes a temptation to leave home. 
Home work and study seem too commonplace. 
The outside world offers opportunities for ac¬ 
tion, or exploits, for realization. Arguments 
in favor of the school seem of no avail. This 
period has been called the age of temporary in¬ 
sanity. Truancy results in idleness, idleness 
in mischief and destructiveness. Statistics 
show a marked increase in crime between the 
ages of twelve and fourteen. Such crime at 
this age is usually trespassing and larceny. 
The youths of the intermediate age in their ef¬ 
forts at self-adjustment to the social order find 
themselves at variance with the home, the 
school, the church, and the civil law. 

At this time scolding, nagging, pious ad¬ 
vice, and punishment are worse than useless. 
The greatest force for control and development 
of character is the sympathetic friendship of 
a mature Christian man or woman. If parents 

172 


THE INTERMEDIATES 


will try to understand their children, select 
their companions, provide for the gratification 
of their social nature in home gatherings in¬ 
stead of leaving it to them to find some secret 
meeting-place, and establish and foster inti¬ 
mate relations of friendship and confidence, 
their moral and religious influence over them 
will be increased many fold. The Sunday- 
school teacher must recognize and provide for 
the craving for social exercise, and realize to 
some degree his pupils’ ideal of man and 
friend. 

3. Recreation. The chief problem in deal¬ 
ing with Adolescents seems to be to provide for 
the demands of their social life. They crave, 
and crave naturally, activities of a cooperative 
and competitive character. This is the secret 
of the attraction of the lounging place, the bil¬ 
liard-room, and the dance-hall. The problem 
is one of substitution. Competent authority 
states that boys’ self-formed organizations are 
largely athletic. Athletic games, in which the 
social and combative instincts find expression 
according to regulations, constitute sixty-one 
per cent of all activities. It would seem that 
the Sunday-school must get away from a purely 
Sunday program. The spiritual instruction 

173 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


on Sunday is to be supplemented by some well- 
directed physical exercises during the week. 
These may be games, or recreational hikes, 
camp life outings, and bird study excursions. 
Well planned and suitably directed recrea¬ 
tions will reduce the percentage of those who 
leave Sunday-school at fifteen. 

Opposite Tendencies. The pupils of this age 
are the despair of many Sunday-school teach¬ 
ers. They manifest contradictory tendencies. 
They oscillate between childhood and maturity. 
On one Sunday they are silly, childish, irre¬ 
pressible ; the next they are serious, docile, and 
responsive. Now they seem overcome with 
lassitude; again they are the incarnation of 
blusterous energy. One day they are chival¬ 
rous and almost overpolite; the next cruel and 
sarcastic hectors. To-day they are self-cen¬ 
tered hedonists; to-morrow they bid fair to be¬ 
come noteworthy examples of heroic asceti¬ 
cism. It takes time to strike a balance in feel¬ 
ing, volition, and action. 

The Teacher of Intermediates. The situa¬ 
tion in the intermediate classes requires well 
prepared teachers. The wise superintendent 
puts competent leadership here. The work of 
bungling quack teachers in the other depart- 

174 


THE INTERMEDIATES 


ments may be partly counteracted by other at¬ 
tractive influences in the school, but if the pu¬ 
pils are not held to the Sunday-school in the 
intermediate department, they rarely if ever 
return. A successful teacher here will possess 

1. Patience. He must remember that this 
is the sowing time. Let him be content to wait. 
Tremendous forces are doing silent but effec¬ 
tive work. 

2. Sympathy. The youthful follies may be 
ridiculous, the conceits absurd, and the plans 
visionary, but the wise teacher will manifest 
a sympathetic interest in all these, seeing here 
the stirrings of ambition, the movings of strong 
desires to accomplish, and the opening up of 
new vistas and visions of possibilities and 
powers. 

3. Capacity for friendship. Friendship im¬ 
plies fellowship, communion, participated ac¬ 
tivities, a common interest. He will know the 
life of each pupil and each pupil will know and 
trust him. He will take pains to keep abreast 
of his young friend’s work and thought. He 
will talk over his studies, enter into his recre¬ 
ations, participate in his plans and ambitions, 
congratulate him on his successes, and mourn 
with him in his losses. Many times he will find 

175 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


a point of contact by reading with him and 
talking over a book, by taking a walk or a hol¬ 
iday in his company, or in a quiet hour of so¬ 
cial intercourse. 

4. Spirit of self-devotion. It takes time and 
an unselfish spirit to be a good friend, but this 
is the time when friendship with boys and 
girls counts. To establish this open and affec¬ 
tionate relation between himself and the mem¬ 
bers of his class will pay a hundredfold. No 
Christmas gift or other act of kindness or 
affection will take the place of giving one’s 
self in personal friendship. This explains the 
power of Jesus over the human life. “I have 
called you friends; for all things that I have 
heard of my Father I have made known unto 
you.” Sharing with others is the essence of 
friendship, the secret of influence. 

Suggestions to Teachers of Intermediates. 
The following are offered as hints in dealing 
with boys and girls of this age: 

1. Recognize growing independence. A 
growing independence is as natural to this stage 
as dependence is to the child. To repress it is 
to invite lasting weakness, or constant friction 
and ultimate lack of control. The teacher must 
respect the boy’s independent choice and judg- 

176 


THE INTERMEDIATES 


ment. He must allow independence of thought 
and action. Unwise conclusions and unfor¬ 
tunate acts must not be too quickly condemned. 
Judgment and choice are developed by exer¬ 
cise. The boy desires to regulate his own con¬ 
duct, and he should be allowed to an increas¬ 
ing extent to act independently of the dictation 
of parent and teacher and on his own initiative 
and responsibility. Allow him to express his 
opinions, and to have a voice in the rules and 
laws which are to govern his conduct. Nothing 
expands and develops youth like a sense of re¬ 
sponsibility. Respect his developing conscience. 
It may be weak and erratic, sensitive or severe, 
but if respected and cultivated, out of weak¬ 
ness will come the strength to hold steady in 
temptation’s darkest hour. 

2. Dwell upon the heroic. The teacher will 
acknowledge his admiration for strength. The 
idealizing tendency of youth at first sets up a 
hero of physical strength and courage. The 
teacher will show that a physical hero is not 
the last word in personality. Strength of body 
needs to be supplemented by strength of mind. 
And mental strength must be devoted to 
worthy ends. The moral hero is the greatest 
hero. And so he can teach effectively the les- 

177 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


sons of moral courage and the strength of 
Christian character. 

3. Supplement the reading. In place of 
the “blood and thunder” stories of unreal life, 
put into the boy’s hand good stories of general 
interest—biography, travel, adventure, and 
discovery. Create an appetite for a book by 
giving some idea of the contents or rehearsing 
choice bits of anecdote or dialogue. Begin if 
necessary with the lighter types of literature, 
but constantly grade up to the standard auth¬ 
ors. A teacher who can direct the Adolescent’s 
reading is molding life. 

4. Provide for social activity. The boisterous 
and blustering energy must have a chance to 
expend itself. Find a relief and outlet for this 
superabundant assertiveness. The class as a 
group may perform some helpful service to 
some poor or afflicted member of the church or 
congregation, or contribute to the support of 
some benevolence at home or abroad. It may 
make maps and models, collect missionary cu¬ 
rios, statistics, and other information. The 
teacher may accompany the class on long walks 
and excursions. He may plan recreations of 
various kinds and participate in games and 
athletic contests within the group. Let the 

178 


THE INTERMEDIATES 


class be organized, and all these things be done 
by associated effort. 

5. Draw upon the New Testament. It is 
stated on authority that before adolescence 
children prefer the Old Testament, but as they 
make their way into a life of larger and better 
ideals they show a decided interest in the New 
Testament, especially in the four Gospels and 
the Acts of the Apostles. They also show a de¬ 
cided interest in Jesus and the principal dis¬ 
ciples. The New Testament is full of grand 
ideals which appeal to youth. It provides a 

great doctrinal system which meets his grow- 

* 

ing propensity for discussion and argument. 
It holds up for emulation the Christ, whose 
splendid manhood, unworldly consecration to 
the accomplishment of noble purpose, and un¬ 
failing strength and courage move the youth¬ 
ful heart to admiration and devotion. 

Importance of Religion. We are told that 
in the twelfth year occurred an important 
event in the religious development of the 
youthful Christ. This stage has always been 
recognized as of great religious importance. 
The years twelve and thirteen show a great in¬ 
crease in the number of conversions. Religion 
in its spiritual character is now better appre- 

179 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


liended. Growing individuality, devotion to 
ideals of life and character, transition from a 
set of rules to govern him to freely accepted 
principles—all contribute to make this a most 
opportune time for the youth to accept the 
Christ Man as his Friend and Ideal. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. How to utilize the club instinct. 

2. Can the Sunday-school provide for any recre¬ 
ational activities? 

3. How to deal with a boy who wishes to leave 
school. 

4. The manhood of the Master, a study for Ado¬ 
lescents. 

5. Paul the Hero, a story for Adolescents. 


180 


XVI 


THE SENIOR CLASSES 

The senior classes in the Sunday-school in¬ 
clude the youth from fifteen to seventeen in¬ 
clusive. Those from the age of eighteen to 
twenty-four are known as the Young People. 
Both the Seniors and the Young People will 
be discussed in the present chapter. The char¬ 
acteristics of the Seniors are much the same 
as those of the Intermediates except that they 
are intensified. 

Mental Growth. The Intermediates are 
characterized by sudden changes and awaken¬ 
ings, while the Seniors show an ever progres¬ 
sive mental development. The mental life puts 
forth vigorous and strong. New reservoirs of 
intellectual energy seem to be tapped. The 
reasoning powers are developing and begin to 
take command. Interest is manifested in all 
the thought and activities of adult life. There 
are indications of enlarged conceptions of self¬ 
hood and of the relation of the individual to 
the widening world. This is for many persons 

181 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


the creative stage. The fertility of the intel¬ 
lect is evident from the fact that some of the 
best and most original contributions to philos¬ 
ophy have been made during these years. With 
the increase of intellectual vigor, there appear 
greater development and strength of charac¬ 
ter. Standards of conduct are now broader, 
truer and more practical. The superior work 
and ability of others are estimated at their 
true value. Indiscriminate companionship in 
a group is succeeded by more carefully se¬ 
lected friends. 

The Feelings. The feeling life becomes stab¬ 
ilized. It is a time of inspirations and enthu¬ 
siasms. It is a period of growing sentiment. 
The social sentiment is strong. There is great 
attraction toward persons of the opposite sex. 
Questions relating to marriage and the home 
are considered serious. The attraction is strong 
to participate in social gatherings. Nature 
now has a more settled fascination and awa¬ 
kens deep feeling. Moral convictions and feel¬ 
ings are more settled. With growing intellect 
and deepening emotion and sentiment there 
comes strength of will. The emotions are easily 
stirred, and these stimulate to feats of great 
endurance. 


182 


THE SENIORS AND YOUNG PEOPLE 


The Will. Another characteristic of this 
period is vigor of will. This shows itself in 
greater concentration and sustained effort in 
the accomplishment of worthy ends. This in¬ 
crease of intellectual and volitional power sug¬ 
gests the method of approach in dealing with 
persons of this class. The appeal should be to 
their manhood and womanhood. The call to 
tasks involving thought, and energy, even sac¬ 
rifice, will meet with readier response. The 
mission of the Sunday-school to this class 
should be a constant summons to self-sacri¬ 
ficing endeavor, to those larger activities which 
demand the utmost expenditure of mental and 
moral strength. The class is the place not 
only for the discovery and statement of spiri¬ 
tual truth, but also for the application of truth 
to the various phases of political and social 
questions, so that from the Sunday-school will 
go forth young men to practical Christian ef¬ 
fort and eminent leadership in the field of lo¬ 
cal or more general reform. 

Conscious Individuality. The young child is 
all for himself. He is a strong individualist. 
But he is unconsciously such. During the 
period of adolescence he is pre-eminently social 
in his attitudes and activities. With the devel- 

183 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


oping of reflective consciousness and the 
growth of the reason, the young man comes to 
think of himself as a separate and distinct 
personality. He becomes increasingly aware 
of himself as having aptitudes, tastes, and am¬ 
bitions all his own. He is now conscious of his 
individuality, and he feels that he is entitled 
to treatment as an individual. Youth of this 
age can not be dealt with in the mass. Dis¬ 
tinctive peculiarities must be considered and 
respected. 

Doubt. The development of the reasoning 
powers requires an adjustment in the thought 
life. Just as questioning characterizes the ear¬ 
lier period of youth, doubt and uncertainty 
are characteristic of this stage. The break 
with authority and tradition, which begins at 
thirteen, culminates at eighteen or nineteen. 
Young people must see the reason for things, 
the principles underlying custom and conduct. 
What they can not see the reason for, or the 
cause of, they are inclined to reject. This ten¬ 
dency to doubt centers about religious ques¬ 
tions. If a young man’s religious training has 
been strict, and the religion of the home posi¬ 
tive and unquestioned, the greater the doubt. 

As developing reason asserts itself, he tries 

184 


THE SENIORS AND YOUNG PEOPLE 


its strength on things beyond the power of rea¬ 
son. The tendency to doubt is normal to 
every young man or woman who thinks and 
whose growing individualism seeks a standing- 
place independent of authority or tradition. 
The teacher should be perfectly frank and 
sympathetic, pointing out the limitations of 
reason and supplying out of a wider knowl¬ 
edge reasons hitherto unperceived by the 
young doubter. Show the reasonableness of 
the Christian doctrine and system, and meet 
doubt with positive certainty. “And we know 
that the Son of God is come, and hath given 
us an understanding, that we may know Him 
that is true . 9 ’ The example of a clear, victori¬ 
ous, religious life is the best argument against 
doubt. 

Storm and Stress. Cautious doubt and tem¬ 
porary skepticism are common among young 
men. Among young women there is common 
a stage of mental ferment and anxiety. This 
emotional experience of anxiety and strain 
takes different forms. Sometimes it is a sense 
of imperfection, or brooding depression, or 
morbid introspection. This stage is sometimes 
called the storm and stress period. It is ex¬ 
plained by the functioning of new powers and 

185 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


the production of new energies for which no 
channels have been made for their full expres¬ 
sion. Surplus energies, turned in upon them¬ 
selves, are recognized in a sense of brooding 
condemnation. This is a trying period for all 
persons concerned. A lack of patience due to 
misunderstanding sometimes leads to unpleas¬ 
ant or even disastrous results. 

New Awakenings. In this age there is the 
social awakening. The youth awakes to the 
importance of neatness in dress. His toilet is 
made with scrupulous care. He cares now 
how others regard him. His manners tend to 
improve. Right conduct makes a new appeal 
to him, and he abandons many of the heartless 
and unrighteous actions of the previous period. 
He awakens also to a concern as to the choice 
of a life work. Wise must be the teacher if 
he rises to the opportunity at this point in giv¬ 
ing information, inspiration, and counsel. 

Religious Awakening. Among the awaken¬ 
ings of the period of later adolescence is relig¬ 
ious awakening. Statistics show that more 
persons are converted between the ages of 
fourteen and nineteen than at any other 
period. Most students of this subject have 
found that during the age of sixteen the max- 

186 


THE SENIORS AND YOUNG PEOPLE 


imum number of conversions occur for any one 
year. Some claim the crest of the conversion 
curve to be at seventeen, and a few claim it to 
be at eighteen. It is a significant fact that 
most persons are converted before the age of 
twenty. 

There is no doubt that the physical and 
mental changes and awakenings during this 
stage favor spiritual awakening and make it 
the golden age of conversion. The development 
of intellectual energy, new will power, stronger 
sentiments of love and altruism, greater re¬ 
sponse to ideals of life, unsatisfied longings, 
and all the varied manifestations of the period 
of storm and stress conduce to bring the young 
man and young woman to a conscious personal 
acceptance of Jesus Christ. It is most for¬ 
tunate if one has been converted prior to this 
critical time. If not, every effort should be 
made in the home, Sunday-school, and church 
service to bring him into the kingdom of God 
before the period of adolescence passes by. 
When it has passed, for the great majority, Je¬ 
sus of Nazareth has forever passed by. 

The Opportunities of the Teacher. The spe¬ 
cial characteristics of this stage furnish un¬ 
usual opportunities to the teacher. 

187 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 

1. Life interests. Among these is the op¬ 
portunity to help the pupil to establish broad 
interests. The tremendous energy of the mind 
seeks an outlet, and the nature and direction 
of the outlet will depend upon the teacher. 
Love of nature, interest in literature, science, 
and art, can be fostered at this time as at no 
other, making all the difference between the 
richer life and the narrow one. 

2. Faith. The teacher may strengthen the 
foundations of faith. The tendency to question 
regarding fundamentals gives an opportunity 
to ground belief in the verities of the Christian 
religion. Faith rests upon facts. It has a rea¬ 
sonable basis. An accurate knowledge of the 
facts which lie at the foundations of faith will 
assist the student to trust beyond the range 
of sight and to be certain beyond the power of 
demonstration. 

3. Vocation. The teacher may aid also in 
choice of life-work. This subject fills the pu¬ 
pil’s mind. It lures him on with bright hopes 
and tempting prospects, and again fills him 
with foreboding and anxiety. He is face to 
face with a serious problem. The teacher who 
understands the aptitudes of his pupils may, 
by wise counsel and loving sympathy, stimu- 

188 


THE SENIORS AND YOUNG PEOPLE 


late them to aspire to high service. They lis¬ 
ten as at no other time to the call to the minis¬ 
try, to the mission field, to the work of reform, 
and other vocations which involve the subor¬ 
dination of selfish ambition to the will of God 
and the welfare of humanity. 

Young People’s Classes. One of the greater 
Sunday-school problems is to hold the young 
people. The methods which succeed in the 
lower departments do not succeed with the 
senior classes. The Sunday-school must ac¬ 
tually meet their peculiar needs and capacities. 
It must give them something which they regard 
as worth while. They are in the intellectual 
stage, and usually in the high school. They 
come into contact with experienced teachers 
and modern methods of instruction. The Sun¬ 
day-school must find teachers somewhat in 
mental correspondence with the intellectual life 
of the senior age, teachers whose accurate 
knowledge of Scriptural truth commands re¬ 
spect. A teacher for young people will need 
not less spirituality and unction than in the 
lower grades, but more precise scholarship and 
painstaking preparation. 

In the conduct of young people’s classes a 
teacher will appeal more to the reason than to 

189 


THE PUPIL AND IIOW TO TEACH HIM 


authority and tradition. “Bring forth your 
strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.” In¬ 
dulge the tendency to reason. Show that the 
devotement of the self in holy sacrifice to God 
is a “reasonable service;” that atheism and 
unbelief in a divine revelation are against rea¬ 
son, and that true faith has a rational basis. 
Only truth that is accepted as one’s own can 
produce conviction and result in voluntary 
choice of right. 

The young people’s classes must have a def¬ 
inite end in view in their study. Special topics 
such as, “The Life of Paul,” “The Life of 
Christ,” “The Apostolic Age of the Church,” 
“The Ephesian Letter,” suggest definite and 
critical study. 

A teacher of young people will continually 
present Christ as their supreme need, and 
press immediate acceptance. He will do this 
with all the wisdom and tact at his command. 
He will study to be a workman “that needeth 
not to be ashamed. ’ ’ And as he teaches he will 
not forget the great longing in the life of the 
young people and will try to make it plain, not 
once but often, that nothing can satisfy this 
longing save Jesus the Christ. 


190 


XVII 


THE ADULTS 

This department includes all persons over 
the age of twenty-five. There might be three 
classes: those from twenty-five to forty, those 
of middle life, and those of elderly life. 

Whole Church in Sunday School. This de¬ 
partment is an important division of the Sun¬ 
day-school. If the regular attendance of the 

* 

fathers and mothers can be secured, it will be 
much easier to get and hold the children. The 
presence of the adults will also dignify the 
Sunday-school in the eyes of the young people. 
There should be then men’s classes and wo¬ 
men’s classes in which are found the entire 
adult membership of the church. 

Adult Interests. At the opening of life the 
young man looks out upon the world as all po¬ 
tentially his. His interests are numerous. 
They are as broad as life itself, and what seems 
to be the narrowness of parent or teacher is re¬ 
garded with pity if not impatience. But as 
life goes on the life interests become defined 

191 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


and fixed. Life becomes more and more spe¬ 
cialized and does not easily depart from estab¬ 
lished grooves. Professor James says that no 
new ideas outside of his particular vocation 
come to be one’s permanent possession after 
twenty-five. Thus the interests narrow, but as 
they narrow they take deeper root. So then 
discussion and application of truth must pro¬ 
ceed along lines suggested by their vocation, 
the welfare of their family, the community and 
the nation. 

Mental Characteristics. Certain distinctive 
qualities of the adult mind might be men¬ 
tioned. The reason now is in full control. The 
mind is critical and conservative. The enthu¬ 
siasms of youth have been tamed by experi¬ 
ence. Sympathies are larger and wider and 
more permanent. The adult has an executive 
will. He is accustomed to action. 

Moral Characteristics. Many adults feel 
themselves beyond the age of formal educa¬ 
tion. They find an easy excuse for failure to 
attend the Sunday-school and the church. They 
are concerned with the realities of material 
things. The blissful idealism of youth has 
dried up in the noon-day sun of mature man¬ 
hood. They are less easily moved by spiritual 

192 


THE ADULTS 


considerations. They are likely to be con¬ 
cerned exclusively with the affairs of this life. 

Concerning the Teacher. The adults require 
competent teachers, men and women of breadth 
of mind, force of character, depth of spiritual¬ 
ity, and personal magnetism. A leading man 
in the community, the employer of men, strong 
and aggressive, is desirable for the men’s 
classes. The classes may profitably organize 
for systematic work. They will do better 
work in separate rooms, where general discus¬ 
sion is possible without embarrassment. 

1. Feed the mind. Such a teacher will per¬ 
sonally direct efforts to recruit the class. He 
will personally invite new members to its fel¬ 
lowship, and encourage others to do the same. 
He will bring to the class session a message 
worth the time and the attention. It will be a 
studied message—a message for men and wo¬ 
men. It will be a message that will feed the 
intellect. Many will be attracted to a teacher 
who has to give disclosures of new truth or who 
puts the truth in new forms. The treatment 
of the lesson will be fresh, suggestive, pertinent 
to real situations, and suited to enlarge the 
mind and challenge the will. 

2. Discuss doctrine. This age brings the 

193 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


fulness of mental vigor. It delights in full 
discussion and fine discrimination. Religion is 
viewed in its theological aspects, and creeds 
and doctrines come in for statement and criti¬ 
cism. 

3. Illustrations from experience. As young 
people enjoy the pleasures of imagination, 
older people delight in the pleasures of mem¬ 
ory. The relation of personal experience is 
one of the best sources of manhood’s joy. The 
discussions, however, should be conducted so 
that one or two persons should not monopolize 
the class time. 

4. Spiritual truth. The battle of life is now 
on. The time of achievement is here. Partici¬ 
pation in the world’s work makes large 
draughts on the spiritual force. Disappoint¬ 
ments, failures, losses, and struggles press and 
weary. These conditions create real soul hun¬ 
ger, a longing for a deeper revelation of God, 
and a closer walk with Him. The teacher 
should study diligently and pray earnestly to 
satisfy the spiritual hunger, to meet the real 
soul needs. 

5. Suggest methods of service. Manhood is 
the period of action. Mere disquisition, how¬ 
ever good, is inadequate. Teaching must con- 

194 


THE ADULTS 


nect with practise. The class may be informed 
and made interested in some line of Christian 
benevolence and service. Relief of the poor, a 
contribution to some unfortunate, visitation to 
the sick, active participation in local politics in 
the interest of a desirable candidate or a moral 
reform, suggest themselves as suitable under¬ 
takings for an adult class. This class should 
cordially support the superintendent in all the 
business of the Sunday-school, and be the de¬ 
pendable right arm of the pastor in the worship 
and promotional activities of the church. Under 
the direction of the teacher, they may do these 
things in their associate capacity. 

If the teacher rises to his opportunity the 
men and women will come to Sunday-school 
and find it a place where they receive real 
spiritual nourishment; where they see new 
visions of truth, clear, illuminating, inspiring; 
where they feel the stimulus of mind reacting 
upon mind, heart beating with heart; where 
they get a view of the progress of God’s king¬ 
dom throughout the world with resulting in¬ 
spiration to faith and courage; where they find 
elevating, refining, broadening influences after 
a week of toil, possibly in forbidding circum¬ 
stances and under crushing burdens; and 

195 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


where God speaks through His Word with new 
sweetness and power, or with new commissions 
to special service in His great harvest-field. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. The end in view in teaching adults. 

2. Compare the teaching of Jesus with the teach¬ 
ing of the scribes. 

3. Positive as compared with negative teaching. 

4. Graded truth for graded classes. 

5. The adult class serving the church; the com¬ 
munity. 


190 


XVIII 


THE TEACHER’S PREPARATION 

The following chapters are devoted to the 
teacher in his preparation of the lesson, and in 
his presentation of the lesson before the class. 
The general principles of teaching are consid¬ 
ered, together with some methods of instruc¬ 
tion which have been found useful. 

The Necessity of Preparation. It is ad¬ 
mitted that a teacher to be successful must 
give time and effort to preparation. Whatever 
qualities of mind or manner he may possess— 
ability, tact, or charm—these do not excuse 
him from preparation. He may have taught 
the lesson a dozen times, but each new coming 
before the class requires new preparation. 
Preparation, general and special, is required to 
beget in the teacher himself that confidence and 
assurance which is indispensable to successful 
work. Inspiration is as a rule largely a matter 
of preparation. Preparation is necessary to 
infuse confidence in the pupils. They accept 
the leadership evidenced by superior knowl- 

197 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


edge and follow with interest and enthusiasm. 
The preparation will be in proportion to the 
importance of the work. It has been said that 
it takes but little time to learn to shovel dirt 
into a cart, but it takes years and patience to 
plan a cathedral. Yet the planning of cathe¬ 
drals is meager in importance to that of build¬ 
ing character. 

Selecting the Aim. In making preparation 
one may ask himself first of all, What is the 
aim of the lesson? What is it designed to 
teach? What am I to attempt as I stand be¬ 
fore the class? What central truth shall I en¬ 
force, what final impression shall I leave? An 
answer to these questions should result in a 
clear and definite aim. With this aim or end 
in mind, let the preparation be made. With a 
definite aim, the teacher may escape unprofit¬ 
able digressions. True teaching is pointed 
and purposeful, and does not float on the cur¬ 
rent of desultory discussion. After the aim is 
decided upon, the collection of materials may 
begin. 

Collecting the Facts. The first work in the 
gathering of materials is to get the facts of the 
lesson. This will necessitate the reading and 
study of the entire chapter, section, or book. 

198 


THE PREPARATION OF THE TEACHER 


Read all the scripture text—parallel and re¬ 
lated passages. Re-read until all the facts 
stand out in clear detail. The accumulation 
and use of facts will make an accurate student 
and a resourceful teacher. Let the preparation 
rest upon a broad and comprehensive knowl¬ 
edge of inter-related facts connected with the 
lesson, rather than upon theories and opinions 
elaborated from isolated texts. 

The Lesson Setting. The lesson setting is 
the place which the events and teaching of the 
lesson stand in relation to other events. The 
utterance of scripture truth grows out of par¬ 
ticular situations, and is therefore connected 
with specific times and places. Many errors 
in the interpretation of scripture arise from a 
dislocation or lack of location of the lesson 
text. 

The lesson setting involves 

1. Establishing the lesson in its time order. 
It answers the question, Where does the lesson 
stand in the succession of events in the life of 
the individual or the nation. This requires a 
careful study of history, and the arrangement 
of chronological outlines. Careful considera¬ 
tion of the time order is very fruitful in study¬ 
ing, for example, the life of Christ, the jour- 

199 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


neys of Paul, or the lives of the kings or the 
prophets. 

2. Connecting the events of the lesson with 
contemporary facts. This answers the ques¬ 
tion, What was going on in the nation at the 
time the events of the lesson occurred? This 
demands a further study of history. 

3. Location of the places mentioned on a 
map. This requires some attention to geog¬ 
raphy and map drawing. The accurate loca¬ 
tion of places will give the lesson reality. Bib¬ 
lical knowledge will soon evaporate unless as¬ 
sociated with places readily located. 

4. An understanding of the local color. 
This implies a knowledge of oriental life, an¬ 
cient and modern, an acquaintance with for¬ 
eign countries and peoples, and strange habits, 
customs and manners. This gives to the facts 
reality. A Sunday-school teacher should have 
easy access to a good Bible dictionary and a re¬ 
liable commentary. 

The Lesson Plan. The lesson plan is the blue 
prints of lesson construction. It is the expen¬ 
sive preliminary which is to guide in the or¬ 
ganization and use of the materials in the mes¬ 
sage of truth suggested by the lesson. As use¬ 
ful buildings do not come into being extem- 

200 


THE PREPARATION OF THE TEACHER 


pore, but conform to a plan previously thought 
out, so a good presentation of the lesson must 
follow a well considered plan. 

The lesson plan will consider a well thought- 
out approach. It will be short and concise and 
vary from time to time. The plan will include 
also doubtless a careful analysis and outline of 
the lesson. Division of the subject will won¬ 
derfully clarify the subject and reveal the high 
teaching points. The plan will also consider 
the point of contact with the class, how interest 
is to be aroused and maintained, how the truth 
is to be illustrated, and how it is to be applied. 
Plans are hard to prepare at first, but practise 
begets ability. Original plans are best. Every 
teacher should be his own architect. 

Special Preparation. A teacher must make 
preparation that is not only comprehensive 
and full, but he must prepare also with refer¬ 
ence to the special needs of the members of the 
class. They come in each Sunday morning 
from different conditions of home life, with 
different temperaments, temptations, hopes, 
and needs. The teacher will need to bring to 
one an arrow of conviction, to another a lesson 
of comfort or hope or trust. Hence he must 
teach every Sunday with an end in view, and 

201 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


plan his lesson for individual needs. Christ’s 
teaching was to individuals. 

Special preparation will require special 
prayer. The teacher will need to pray for his 
class, member by member. He must pray un¬ 
til their needs are real to him. He must pray un¬ 
til he carries a burning interest in the temporal 
and spiritual welfare of each pupil. He must 
pray until it begets in him a strong desire to 
supply a helpful ministry.. And finally, he 
must pray until the lesson comes to his own 
heart with freshness and power. And with 
truth gripping his own heart, with a deeper 
consecration, a stronger love, a more buoyant 
faith, and a richer joy, he may go before his 
class with strong assurance of divine approval, 
“a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, 
rightly dividing the word of truth.” 

Recognize the Different Grades. The teacher 
of each grade must prepare to meet the needs 
of the various ages. The primary teacher must 
plan her object lessons, select the memory 
passages, movement exercises, and stories. Tell¬ 
ing stories is an art that can be cultivated. 
Telling the stories over several times to a chair 
during the week is helpful. Practise will do 
wonders in word-painting. 

202 


THE PREPARATION OF THE TEACHER 


The teacher of the Juniors must prepare in 
such a way as to arouse interest or he will be a 
conspicuous failure. Lectures on doctrine and 
exposition will not appeal to them. He must 
know them and the world in which they live. 

The teacher of Intermediates must keep in 
mind the peculiar needs of that age and pre¬ 
pare accordingly. Thus every age as well as 
every lesson has its problem. 

The teachers who succeed are the teachers 
who prepare. They do not depend upon the 
inspiration of the moment, upon lucky answers 
or brilliant impromptu, or a hasty glance at 
the lesson on Saturday night or Sunday morn¬ 
ing; but they put forth the necessary effort 
persistently and conscientiously, and later find 
that the ability and inspiration is theirs in 
sufficient measure. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. What is the aim of next Sunday's lesson? 

2. Present an analysis of the next lesson. 

3. How would you launch it? 

4. What special need of your pupils will you try 
to meet? 


203 


XIX 


PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

The data of psychology contained in the 
foregoing chapters on the intellectual activi¬ 
ties, the feelings, and the will, give us the gen¬ 
eral laws of soul development. Upon these 
rest the following general principles of teach¬ 
ing: 

Teaching is Eductive, Not Creative. All the 
activities of the soul exist in the child at birth. 
But they exist only in germ. Their develop¬ 
ment is the work of education. Teaching cre¬ 
ates nothing. It only assists in unfolding 
what is wrapped up in human nature. 

Real Instruction is Graded. True teaching 
is directed to the nutrition of those activities 
which are at the time most active. They do 
not at all start out at the same time. As each 
new possibility manifests itself, nourish it 
with especial care. When memory is at flood- 
tide, exercise it to the limit; later on pay more 
attention to reasoning. 

Growth is by Exercise. True teaching se- 

204 


PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

cures activity in the pupils’ minds. Exercise 
is the law of growth. Muscle grows strong by 
exercise. The arm of a blacksmith acquires 
power by use. So every power of the mind is 
developed, strengthened, and matured, by ex¬ 
ercise. Mental and moral power is not an ac¬ 
cretion, something plastered on; it grows from 
within. The class period is not the time for 
the teacher to exploit his learning or his ac¬ 
complishments. To lecture is not always to 
stimulate thought. The former is infinitely 
easier than the latter. The great teachers are 
those who have assisted their students to bring 
thought to the birth. They have stimulated 
the class to ask questions, express opinions, tell 
the lesson story, and settle things for them¬ 
selves. The Great Teacher said, “Which now, 
thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell 
among thieves?” And when His pupil had 
thought and made reply, He said, ‘ ‘ Go, and do 
thou likewise.” The father who holds the 
board while his son drives the nails may spoil 
a board or two but he is making the boy. Of 
how much more value are boys than boards? 
The perpetual question for the teacher is, 
“How can I make my pupils think; how can 
I make them feel and do ? ” 

205 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


Accommodation of Material. True teaching 
discriminates in the presentation of teaching 
material. A child does not grow by forcing 
food down his throat. The fact of an appetite 
makes this unnecessary. The person does not 
exist who does not have some kind of mental 
appetite. Children have strong appetites for 
stories, their grandfathers for doctrines. Good 
teaching is largely a matter of presenting the 
right material in right quantities at the right 
time. Then response is certain and growth in¬ 
evitable. 

From Concrete to Abstract. True teaching 
proceeds from the concrete to the abstract. 
The child ’s world is a world of concrete things 
—of objects, acts, and qualities. Objects pro¬ 
duce in the mind ideas, and ideas call for words 
to name them. The order is objects, ideas, 
words. In the primary grades teaching must 
begin with objects; later, when ideas and 
words and things have become thoroughly asso¬ 
ciated, the teaching process may go on by 
words and the elaboration of ideas. Reason 
deals with the relation of ideas. Begin with a 
biography, a narrative, a history; with Moses, 
David, and John; and later take account of the 
higher thinking activities and emphasize in 

206 



PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 


your teaching the abstract qualities of meek¬ 
ness, courage, and love. 

Professor Brumbaugh gives two illustrations 
of teaching that bring out this point. “Teacher 
A says, ‘Children, it is noble, good and grand 
to be kind and helpful to those in need. This 
is all the more true when the person is a crip¬ 
ple. I want you to remember this, and always 
try to be on the lookout for chances to render 
such aid . 7 Teacher B says, ‘ Children, one cold 
Sunday morning in December, when the pave¬ 
ments were icy and dangerous, an old man was 
slowly making his way to church. He was a 
cripple. He trembled as he leaned on his 
crutch and cane. At the steps to his church he 
set his crutch and cane upon the icy stone and 
endeavored to lift his weak and trembling body 
to the next step. His crutch slipped on the 
ice. He almost fell. Thus several times he did 
his best to enter his church. Each time he 
slipped and with pain recovered himself. Just 
then a college boy came that way. He saw the 
old man in his struggles and, hurrying for¬ 
ward, put his arms gently around the poor 
cripple, lifted him carefully to the vestibule, 
opened the door, set the old man down, and 
walked hastily aw 7 ay. Tell me, children, what 

207 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


do you think of the college boy? Tell me also, 
if you care to, what would you have done if 
you had been there ? ’ ” 

Compare the method in this illustration with 
that of Jesus with the lawyer who asked, “Who 
is my neighbor ? ’ ’ 

From Known to Unknown. True teaching 
proceeds from the known to the unknown. A 
fact may be clear to the teacher, but unless it 
touches the child somewhere in his personal ex¬ 
perience it has no meaning to him. What has 
been a part of the child’s experience the rather 
excites his interest and therefore becomes a 
starting point from which to follow a line of 
thought. Find the pupil’s point of contact 
with the world of sense or knowledge, and in 
your teaching start there, and lead by simple 
steps to the understanding of the new. To 
teach the lesson of faith in God, begin in the 
child’s trust in his father; of Christ the good 
Shepherd, from his knowledge of sheep. 

Repetition. True teaching recognizes that 
retention depends upon constant repetition. 
Impressions upon the mind deepen by repeat¬ 
ing. Repeating facts, scripture passages, sum¬ 
maries, and classifications is essential if the 
lessons are to become permanent possessions 

20S 


PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 


of the pupil. We would teach not for a day, 
but make our impressions of truth indelible. 
A teacher may use different plans and methods 
of review. He might have a rapid review each 
Sunday. A good teacher is a drill master. He 
sees to it that his pupils know some things 
well. 


TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. The principle of physical growth. 

2. What is the work of a teacher of gymnastics? 

3. The principles Jesus used in teaching the wo¬ 
man at the well. 

4. The principle Jeremiah observed in the use of 
the bottle and the girdle. 

5. Teaching principles God used in dealing with 
discouraged Elijah. 


209 


XX 


METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 

Educational principles are unchangeable. 
They are the same in every land and in every 
age. They may be discovered, but not in¬ 
vented. Educational methods are more flex¬ 
ible. They rest upon educational principles, 
and grow out of the tact, originality, ingenu¬ 
ity, and skill of the teacher. Out of the 
thoughtful experience of the most successful 
teachers have come certain methods which are 
recognized as of prime importance. The exis¬ 
tence of normal schools and normal training 
classes suggests that the educational process 
may be learned. Without a knowledge of the 
best methods teaching is wasteful—wasteful 
of time, wasteful of energy, and awfully waste¬ 
ful of material. He who works with souls 
should know his art more thoroughly than he 
who fashions diamonds. 

How to Conduct a Class. There are five 
methods usually employed: 

1. The story method. This is the method 

210 


METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 


for the primary classes. The teacher tells the 
lesson story and illustrates it. The lesson sto¬ 
ries should be complete in including a whole 
life or a whole event or a whole book. Let the 
story lead up gradually to the climax. Keep 
the story moving by keeping close to the do¬ 
ings and sayings of the actors. A story must 
not drag from too much detail. The point 
should be very clear, so clear that the student 
can make the application himself. 

A story-teller must cultivate the visualizing 
power so that he can see and feel the actual sit¬ 
uation of the story. Sometimes he must adapt 
a story to special needs and special occasions. 
This involves the shortening in some places 
and filling in and expanding in others. His 
preparation will largely consist in practising 
the stories beforehand. The masters of this art 
have not been afraid to practise a story a dozen 
times in their rooms before trying to tell it to 
their class. Thorough familiarity is the secret 
of readiness and dramatic power. When you 
find an effective story use it frequently. The 
story method can be used to some extent with 
classes of all grades. Who does not like to 
hear a story well told ? What is more interest¬ 
ing than the Bible stories of David, Moses, 

211 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


Daniel, Job, Samuel, Mordecai, and the prodi¬ 
gal son? 

To know how to tell a story well is regarded 
by some as the most important qualification for 
teaching children. Stories are the way to their 
mind and heart. He must know this great art 
who would enter in. 

2. The recitation method. This presupposes 
the assignment of specific tasks and the recita¬ 
tion either oral or written. It implies a text¬ 
book, either the Bible or parts of the same. 
The object of this method is to induce previous 
study on the part of the pupil. The work of 
the teacher by this method is not so much giv¬ 
ing instruction as hearing recitation. 

This method is good with juniors and inter¬ 
mediates, in storing their minds with Bible 
facts. It is used to secure memorization of 
sections of scripture, facts of Bible geography 
and history. To induce pupils to home study, 
be very definite in the lesson assignment. Call 
for the recitation of the assigned portions and 
commend the good work. Do not expect too 
much. 

The preparation of good outlines in advance 
is helpful. Let the outline for a quarter in¬ 
clude a definite number of passages of scrip- 

212 


METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 


ture, certain hymns, historical data, and geog¬ 
raphy work to be memorized. A public con¬ 
cert exercise at the end of the quarter helps to 
stimulate interest and keep up enthusiasm. 
This method is of great value in the hands of 
an honest teacher, but is easily abused. 

3. The conversation method. This method 
substitutes extempore questioning and discus¬ 
sion for assigned work. It consists of asking 
suggestive questions so that the pupil may dis¬ 
cover truth for himself. It stimulates mental 
alertness and activity. This is teaching of the 
highest type. It is the method of Jesus and of 
Socrates. It demands skill in asking questions. 
The teacher must have an objective point, and 
select questions that will lead to the end in 
view. In preparing to teach the lesson on 
“Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail,” he 
might consider the following as proper ques¬ 
tions: Have you ever visited a jail? Tell of 
a visit to a penitentiary. Did you ever know 
of any person sent to jail? Why were Paul 
and Silas in Philippi? Were they disturbing 
the peace? Had they committed any crime? 
Did you ever see a fortune-teller? How did 
the preaching of Paul affect the business of 
fortune-telling? What businesses do you think 

213 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


the gospel would interfere with? What effect 
does it have upon God’s work to imprison His 
workers ? 

Recall the life of Bunyan. Does God care 
for His own? Refer to Daniel, Peter. What 
may we expect if w r e are true to God? 

The great defect in this method may be the 
teacher’s lack of preparation, and the conse¬ 
quent drifting of the discussion into idle and 
fruitless wanderings. 

4. The lecture method. Here the teacher 
instructs by conveying information and mak¬ 
ing direct application of the truths of the les¬ 
son. He uses the scripture set for the lesson 
as a text and delivers a lecture sermon. With 
large classes this method is used to good advan¬ 
tage, as well as with pupils who can not or will 
not take time for preparation. A teacher of 
such a class needs, in addition to a ready 
knowledge of the Bible, and familiarity with 
the principles of exegesis, to be a fluent speaker 
and a man of wide reading and broad knowl¬ 
edge. This method is popular and much used, 
but as no study is required usually few perma¬ 
nent results are secured. 

5. The seminar method. By this method 
students investigate topics of study set by the 

214 


METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 


teaclier. The topics may constitute a course. 
The method appeals to mature students who 
have access to a good library and who are pos¬ 
sessed of the investigating spirit. It requires 
a thoroughly trained teacher. There is noth¬ 
ing more delightful and permanently useful 
than an extended course by this method on 
some subject like Old Testament Prophecy, 
the Early Christian Church, or the Epistles 
of Paul. 

6. The combined method. It is probable 
that the best success is by the use of all these 
methods. The successful teacher assigns les¬ 
sons, calls for recitation, assigns topics, calls 
forth opinions from members of the class, gives 
illustrations, and sums up the lesson in a final 
appeal. A method which will secure home 
study, and combine instruction and recitation 
will be most satisfactory in most instances. 

A Good Teaching Plan. One of the best 
methods of teaching the lesson is known as 
Plerbart’s method. This method is based upon 
the laws of mind, and finds endorsement by 
many authorities on method. This teaching 
plan falls into five logical subdivisions or steps, 
each having a part in realizing the purpose of 
the lesson. 


215 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


1. Preparation. The purpose of this step is 
to revive in the pupil’s mind whatever ideas he 
may have regarding the lesson under consid¬ 
eration. It does not have to do with the per¬ 
sonal study of the teacher but with the prep¬ 
aration of the class for the reception of the 
new truth. To do this the teacher must have 
an acquaintance with the pupils—their read¬ 
ing, experiences, their interests—so that he 
may know what these ideas are. These ideas 
may be drawn from previous lessons, or may 
be material which has never been used in the 
class before. 

In preparing for the lesson, “Paul at Phil¬ 
ippi,” the teacher may ask, “Where did we 
leave Paul last Sunday?” or “What places 
have been touched by Paul thus far on his 
journey?” Or he might recall to the class the 
work of Livingstone and Stanley in opening 
up Africa, or show that great movements some¬ 
times have apparently insignificant begin¬ 
nings. 

Familiar ideas constitute the soil in which 
new ideas grow and germinate. They are the 
only soil in which the seeds of thought and 
truth will grow. No soil, no fruit. This step 
is based upon the educational principle, “from 

216 


METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 


the known to the unknown. ’ ’ Be sure that the 
ideas recalled are really similar to the ideas 
you wish to teach, and do not let the first step 
consume too much time or run into irrelevant 
channels. This step ends by calling attention 
to the fact that from the student’s standpoint 
additional knowledge is desirable. “We must 
see now how the gospel seed grew on Euro¬ 
pean soil,” or “Paul was expelled from Anti¬ 
och, assaulted at Iconium, stoned at Lystra; 
we must find out now whether his treatment 
at Philippi was more encouraging. So we 
gladly follow Paul to Philippi. 

2. Presentation. In this step we get the 
new material of the lesson for the day before 
the class. We bring the new and place it be¬ 
side the old which was called up in the “prep¬ 
aration. ’ ’ 

The method will vary with the different 
ages. With the primaries the new material 
will be presented by stories, with the juniors 
and intermediates by question and answer, 
and with the adults by the combination meth¬ 
od of recitation and lecture. Make the presen¬ 
tation vivid by keeping close to the facts. 
Weave in a wealth of detail, and employ a 
lively manner. This is the place for facts and 

217 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


plenty of them, and for the use of objects, 
maps, pictures, and models. 

If the lesson is on the ‘‘Riot at Ephesus / 9 
the teacher will bring out the chief facts re¬ 
garding the size, importance, and history of 
Ephesus; the ancestors, intelligence, and occu¬ 
pations of the inhabitants; the temple of Di¬ 
ana—its history and wealth. Locate Ephesus 
on the map and exhibit some specimen images 
or pictures of the temple of Diana and the 
shrines. Present in detail the seizing of Paul’s 
companions, the great confusion, and the 
speech of the town clerk. Draw out by ques¬ 
tions what knowledge the pupils have, and 
supplement it by additional information. 

3. Association. This step involves the re¬ 
lating, connecting, or interweaving of the new 
facts with the old. The new facts unrelated 
would have no value for memory or compre¬ 
hension. We recall at this point that knowl¬ 
edge is a web. The new must be knit up or 
woven into the old or it will be lost. The new 
is therefore associated with other facts and 
ideas, and relations are discovered and empha¬ 
sized. This is the place for illustrations and 
comparisons. The teacher must be continually 
in search of good illustrations. Here is where 

218 


METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 


the teacher of wide general knowledge has the 
advantage. He can draw from many sources 
for his illustrative material. 

In teaching the last lesson referred to we 
compare the antagonism to Paul of the mas¬ 
ters of the soothsayer at Philippi with that of 
the silversmiths at Ephesus; Paul’s relation 
to civil authority on various occasions; his 
courage in different places; how the uproar 
raised by the enemies of the gospel in various 
localities widened the sphere of its influence. 

4. Generalization. If the foregoing steps 
have been well taken, this step is natural and 
easy. It consists of drawing a general princi¬ 
ple from the individual facts which have been 
treated in the presentation and association. 
The pupil should draw the conclusion for him¬ 
self, and state it in his own words. The teacher 
can then restate it more clearly if necessary. 
Generalization will be in the form of judg¬ 
ments. They should be short and clear. For 
example, 11 The gospel faithfully preached stirs 
the opposition of wicked men;” “the religion 
of Jesus disturbs false religions.” 

Generalization is the step that gathers up 
the rays of lesson teaching and brings them 
to a burning focus of general truth, in which 

219 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


form knowledge is held in memory and is 
ready to be applied. 

5. Application. Generalization leaves us 
with a general law. But knowledge to be of 
value must be applied. Application carries the 
law into the field of practise. The teacher 
should take this final step so that the pupil 
will not only assent to the truth, but feel it, 
and feel it in such a way that it moves him to 
action. The truth must be applied so that it 
stirs the conscience, moves the will, and be¬ 
comes a controlling principle in the life. 

To make effective application, the teacher 
must know intimately his pupils, their needs, 
their struggles, their aspirations. Launched 
by a man who is sincere, who teaches out of a 
heart of sympathy and love and under the in¬ 
spiration of the Holy Spirit, the application 
comes with moving energy and great power. 

If forty minutes were given to the lesson 
period, the time might be allowed to the differ¬ 
ent steps as follows: preparation, five minutes; 
presentation, fifteen minutes; association, ten 
minutes; generalization, five minutes; applica¬ 
tion, five minutes. Sometimes the last three 
steps are combined with the second, the final 
appeal being reserved for the close. 

220 


METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 


The Use of Illustration. We have seen from 
the third step of Herbart’s plan of teaching 
how important is the law of association. As the 
teacher presents new ideas to the class, if they 
are to become the permanent possession of the 
pupils, he must establish associations and rela¬ 
tions between the new ideas and those already 
known and mastered. To establish these asso¬ 
ciations between the new and the old the 
teacher collects and uses illustrations. 

Definition. To illustrate is to make lustrous 
or luminous; to make clear or comprehensible 
through comparisons and examples. Illustra¬ 
tive material is usually stories, parables, simi¬ 
les, and figures of speech. 

Illustration Explained. Our experience is 
with a world of things—with objects of sense; 
with coins, sheep, roads, trees, seed, food, and 
other concrete material. Our knowledge is 
made up largely of such concrete experiences. 
Truth, however, is abstract. To understand ab¬ 
stract truth it must be comprehended in terms 
of the concrete. The teacher brings in the new 
idea or truth from the dark region of unknown 
knowledge, and illuminates it in the focus of 
light gathered from the common, every-day, 
familiar experience of the pupil. 

221 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


Dr. H. C. Trumbull quotes an illustration 
which sets in the light of the familiar the ab¬ 
stract truth of Paul’s teaching that we are 
saved by faith and also by grace: ‘ ‘ A man has 
fallen from the deck of a moving steamer. The 
captain instantly orders the engines stopped; 
a boat is lowered; a rope is thrown to the strug¬ 
gling man; the man clutches at the rope; he is 
saved—saved by the lovingkindness of the cap¬ 
tain; saved also by his clutching at the prof¬ 
fered rope.” 

A Caution. In the use of illustrations care 
must be taken that the story or simile really 
sheds light. After some effort to illustrate the 
words of our Lord, “By their fruits ye shall 
know them,” a parent succeeded only as fol¬ 
lows: “By what does Jesus say we may know 
people?” “By their fruits.” “What do you 
mean by their fruits?” “Apples and pears.” 

Trumbull’s “Teaching and Teachers” gives 
a further example of an unsuccessful effort to 
use illustration. A clergyman was explaining 
in an address to children, that Christian min¬ 
isters are the salt of the earth. After he had 
shown the value of salt in its power to keep 
food from spoiling, he told how ministers aided 
in preserving the world from corruption. He 


METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 


concluded by asking, “Why then are minis¬ 
ters the salt of the earth V’ and received the 
suggestive answer, “Because they keep vic¬ 
tuals from spoiling.” 

Importance of Illustration. Good illustra¬ 
tion serves many purposes. It aids in securing 
attention. It sometimes finds its place in the 
lesson introduction. Illustration sustains at¬ 
tention. It rests the reasoning faculties. It 
stimulates the imagination, and develops the 
power of memory. Illustration also arouses 
conscience. Young and old alike enjoy the 
simile and illustrative story. The parables of 
Jesus interest us all, and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s 
Progress is alluring to many who would hardly 
be attracted to a treatise on systematic theol¬ 
ogy. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. The science of story-telling. 

2. Five good books on the methods of teaching. 

3. Lesson taught by five persons, each contrib¬ 
uting a “step.” 

4. Sources of illustrative material. 

5. The teaching methods of Jesus. 


223 


XXI 


TEACHING SUGGESTIONS 

Methods of teaching are many. There are 
methods for special groups, and methods for 
special occasions. But the methods of the best 
teachers can not be slavishly followed. They 
frequently must be worked over and adapted 
to the particular situation. A growing teacher 
is always alert to teaching suggestions. 

Individuality Must Be Considered. Impor¬ 
tant as the study of psychology and child study 
is, it is a mistake to suppose that a knowledge 
of these branches will insure good teaching. 
Any science is primarily general. It seeks the 
discovery and statement of general truths. 
The generalizations of child-study are impor¬ 
tant and useful. Pupils are seen to pass 
through certain well-defined stages and to 
possess certain characteristics, but a teacher 
must deal with individuals. 

In actual experience each pupil seems to be 
an exception to all the rules. He is a unit by 
himself. The average child or normal pupil 

224 


TEACHING SUGGESTIONS 


described in the books is not present. Child- 
study and the study of methods therefore are 
only a part of the preparation to the actual 
contact with real pupils. 

The Sunday-school teacher will need to 
make careful study of each individual child. 
There is something that attaches to each one 
which constitutes individuality. Each one is 
unique. Each pupil must be studied as a sep¬ 
arate problem, and requires a separate treat¬ 
ment. It is impossible therefore to succeed in 
trying to adapt truth to a class as a whole 
without knowing intimately the individual 
units. 

In order to reach the individual the class 
must be small. Adults seem to thrive in larger 
classes. With adults there is the enthusiasm 
of members, and the cohesive power of organi¬ 
zation. But with younger pupils the small 
class—six or eight in number—should be the 
rule. In small classes the teacher can know 
each pupil as a friend, and secure in each those 
habits of thinking, feeling, and doing which 
each most needs. The personal touch is all-im¬ 
portant in leading to a life of faith and love. 
It is the influence that comes from personal 
contact that leads to spiritual life and growth. 

225 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


The Point of Contact. This expression is 
used to indicate the point at which the pupil’s 
experience and the truth he is to learn come 
together. Really to know anything is to know 
it through personal experience. In personal 
experience there must be activity of some kind. 
Activity in the pupil is the law of mental and 
spiritual growth. To secure this activity the 
teacher must begin on the plane of the pupil’s 
living. He must commence in his teaching 
where the pupil touches life in concrete and ob¬ 
jective experience. He must try to get the pu¬ 
pil’s view-point. At this point of contact the 
teacher will begin his instruction. 

Patterson DuBois enunciates and applies 
this principle. A teacher was unexpectedly 
asked to teach a class of frisky boys. The les¬ 
son was on the Golden Rule. He found the 
point of contact with an ivory foot-rule, and 
from their knowledge and curiosity he led 
them to the Golden Rule. As he well says, 
1 ‘ Golden texts, theological doctrines, ethical 
abstractions, taken in themselves, would have 
been hurled at these bright minds in vain; but 
the contact with a tangible rule such as a boy 
would use, or, at all events enjoys handling, 
was the successful departure for his spiritual 

226 


TEACHING SUGGESTIONS 


instruction. The lesson developed naturally 
from the material to the moral rule.” 

Elizabeth Harrison tells of another teacher 
in a mission school who found the point of con¬ 
tact with a class of “toughs” in the blacking- 
box which one of the boys had. He was about 
to precipitate a row by using it on another 
boy’s nose. But from the box the teacher led 
the class on to the interesting facts of lumber 
manufacture and of logging-camps, from the 
nails to the mining and working of ore. And 
after reaching the mysterious world beyond 
their knowledge she secured in them a feeling 
of reverence and “built up in them an altar to 
the unknown God, which altar was necessary 
before the God of righteousness and of mercy 
and love could be preached unto them.” 

It is well known that “the Salvation Army 
reaches the outcasts of the slums not by a map 
of Palestine and the Catechism, but through 
that which is common in their experience— 
noise and racket, the bass drum and the brass 
horn. ’ ’ A study of the teaching of Jesus shows 
the importance of this principle. In His par¬ 
ables He began on the plane of His hearers’ 
experience, and proceeded into the realm of 
the most exalted spiritual truth. 

227 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


The Use of the Blackboard. The use of the 

blackboard in teaching depends upon the prin¬ 
ciple that the eye is one of the chief senses in 
the acquisition of knowledge. For most per¬ 
sons visual images are more natural than audi¬ 
tory images. What can be imaged is more 
likely to be retained. Children need the use of 
this method; adults are fond of it. Teachers 
use it constantly in the public schools. 

The blackboard is not so much for the dis¬ 
play of artistic talent, for carefully drawn pic¬ 
tures of landscapes, ships, trees, crosses, and 
anchors, but for work done rapidly in the pres¬ 
ence of the school or class. The superintendent 
will find it a pleasure to use it in the lesson 
review. The lesson can usually be reduced to 
five or six words giving the very gist. These 
words printed in bold type may be the pegs on 
which to hang the lessons of truth. It is not 
easy at first to talk and draw at the same time, 
but practise beforehand will give confidence 
and skill. 

Some teachers find a small board useful for 
class work. It is indispensable for analyses, 
tabulations, drills and reviews. The use of the 
blackboard never fails to secure attention; it 
stimulates the imagination and strengthens the 

228 


TEACHING SUGGESTIONS 


memory. To omit its use is to neglect one of 
the greatest aids in imparting truth. 

The Teaching of Missions. The teaching of 
missions is perhaps one of the most important 
problems which the modern church has to face. 
And it is in the Sunday-school—the church’s 
most progressive organization—that this work 
should be persistently and systematically car¬ 
ried on. If it is true that a very large per¬ 
centage of church members are the product of 
the Sunday-school, how important it is that 
they should be fired with missionary zeal when 
their hearts are most receptive and their minds 
most unprejudiced and open to truth. 

The teaching of missions may be a part of 
the work with every class. In doing this there 
must be regard to the law of the grade. Young 
children are interested in the adventures of 
pioneer missionaries. Suitable stories are 
available in book form which may be worked 
into the regular lessons, or told on stated occa¬ 
sions. Pupils between the ages of twelve and 
eighteen appreciate missionary biography. The 
sacrifice and toil of the great missionaries make 
a strong appeal to those of this age. 

With the maturity of later years comes the 
climax of missionary teaching. The altruistic 

220 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


principles of the gospel may reach their final 
expression in lives consecrated to missionary 
work. The call can be made now for volun¬ 
teers to the mission field. Prayer circles can 
be organized which will stimulate interest in 
the work. Classes may be formed for the study 
of the field and for determining the most press¬ 
ing needs and the way in which they should be 
met. 

Missions may be taught in a general exercise 
once a month before the school. Much can be 
done by a conscientious missionary superinten¬ 
dent who will take time for careful planning 
and preparation. She may take advantage of 
anniversaries of events in the lives of great 
missionaries and give short sketches of their 
work. Missionary maps may be displayed, and 
our denominational stations located. At an¬ 
other time the personnel of a station may be 
stated, and an effort made to acquaint the 
school with their history and work. She may 
use the time to encourage missionary reading 
by referring to general and denominational 
current events. Missionaries on furlough are 
frequently available for addresses. Curios 
and posters are useful. A missionary scripture 
reading would be suitable. Special collections 

230 


TEACHING SUGGESTIONS 


for purposes carefully explained in advance 
should not be forgotten. Quarterly or annual 
reports of the money raised or work accom¬ 
plished will stimulate interest. There is a 
wealth of material to make Missionary Sunday 
profitable if one will use it. 

There is scarcely any study in the whole 
curriculum from which a broader intellectual 
training may be derived than the study of mis¬ 
sions. It includes a knowledge of the common 
branches of learning, geography, literature, 
language, customs, institutions, government, 
and religion. It leads to a knowledge of our 
duty to our neighbors, to our city, to our state 
and nation, and to the whole world. It inves¬ 
tigates the principles of sacrifice and service, 
of altruism in its most noble form. It brings 
us into contact with all the nations of all times, 
with the different grades of civilization and 
the formation of institutions. It is a study 
without which no education, however broad in 
other lines, is complete. Every earnest and 
thoughtful Christian can not but see the im¬ 
portance of studying a subject which embraces 
so much and leads to a true Christian culture. 

Teaching of Temperance. Temperance in¬ 
struction is an important part of the Sunday- 

231 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


school teacher’s work. It may be introduced 
at any time, but comes in for special emphasis 
on the particular days set apart for the quar¬ 
terly temperance lessons. To succeed the 
teachers must make special preparation. Fresh 
material must be introduced to keep up inter¬ 
est. This material must be facts. General 
statements on the evils of various kinds of in¬ 
temperance will fail to hold the attention. 
These facts may be exhibited on charts. In¬ 
formation may be imparted in this way com¬ 
paring money spent on tobacco in the United 
States with that spent on foreign missions, on 
education or on the navy. Other charts might 
show the effect of cigarets upon the human 
body, or how their use affects the mind of stu¬ 
dents. Give the facts regarding the use and 
effects of drugs. The importance of vigilance 
and energetic action in the enforcement of the 
Eighteenth Amendment should be dwelt upon 
in various ways. With the older classes give 
the facts regarding the results of impurity— 
the white slave traffic, the divorce evil. Dis¬ 
cuss the question of temperance in its larger 
aspect of personal self-control and moderation 
in all things, even those that are legitimate. 
Collect the teachings of Scripture, in certain 

232 


TEACHING SUGGESTIONS 


books, on the subject, or the teachings of 
Christ or of Paul. 

It will be found that facts of near-by places 
and of recent occurrence are worth more than 
those of other countries or of past history. A 
temperance rule of the shop in your native 
town, or the testimony of a leading order or 
teacher in the neighborhood is of the greatest 
importance. It will be well to verify your facts 
and figures and be accurate and particular. 

Topics suggested by the above may be as¬ 
signed for home study to pupils in the upper 
classes. Organize them against the leading 
forms of intemperance. 

The teaching of temperance will be very in¬ 
teresting and effective if it is definite. Do not 
preach, but give facts and let the facts preach 
their own truths. 

Biblical Geography. Bible facts as well as 
historical events, to be well understood, must 
be localized. Sacred history has been too long 
suspended in mid-air. It should be pinned to 
the earth. Ignorance in regard to the facts of 
the Bible has often been due to a neglect of the 
study of the geography of the Bible. To many 
Sunday-school pupils Bible stories are not real. 
The personalities do not stand out as vivid 

233 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


characters, simply because the background of 
the picture is lacking. A short time ago, a 
lady en route to the Holy Land was heard in¬ 
quiring of a minister who had made the trip 
before, if he could tell her how far Jerusalem 
was from Palestine. Such ignorance is inex¬ 
cusable, as well as embarrassing. Pupils who 
are old enough to study geography during the 
week, are surely old enough to understand a 
little Bible geography on Sunday. Every pu¬ 
pil in the junior department should be quite 
thoroughly familiar with the map of Pales¬ 
tine; and should be able to locate its chief 
bodies of water, its mountains, and its cities. 
The feeding of Elijah, the death of Saul, the 
feeding of the five thousand, the transfigura¬ 
tion, the home of Lazarus and his sisters, 
should suggest instantly to the pupil places 
upon the map. 

Every Sunday-school should have good wall 
maps, and should use them every Sunday. 
There should be small outline maps to be 
traced and filled in by the younger pupils. 
Older pupils can make their own outlines, and 
fill in the details as the lessons progress from 
week to week. This work will be of lasting 
benefit. To pupils thus trained, Mount Car- 

234 


TEACHING SUGGESTIONS 


mel will stand out as a great landmark two- 
thirds the distance from north to south on the 
west and directly opposite the Sea of Galilee. 
The location of Jerusalem a little west of the 
northern end of the Dead Sea is firmly fixed in 
the mind. The journey of Jesus from Naza¬ 
reth to Jerusalem is made real. A study of 
contour maps is also very valuable. Then will 
the pupil understand why Christ was thirsty 
when He arrived at the well of Samaria. Then 
also will He begin to understand why Jesus re¬ 
moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. 

Importance of Drills, Reviews, and Exami¬ 
nations. 1 . Drills. Impressions whether weak 
or strong may be greatly strengthened by repe¬ 
tition. By repetition we do not mean a mere 
going over of the same words, but a conscious 
and attentive repeating of the truths we wish 
to retain. In studying the life of Paul the 
account of his conversion; the principal cities 
visited on his three missionary journeys; the 
place and purpose of writing each epistle, 
should become the valued possession of every 
pupil. The importance of repetition is shown 
by Christ in His method of work. Three times 
to Peter He said, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest 
thou me?” Could Peter ever forget that? 

235 


THE PUPIL AND HOW TO TEACH HIM 


2. Reviews. It is only the incompetent 
teacher who dreads review Sunday. Every 
Sunday should be a review Sunday. The 
motto of a thorough teacher is Review, Re¬ 
view. Reviewing not only shows what the pu¬ 
pil has learned, but what the teacher has 
taught, and also serves to bring before teacher 
and pupil what has been learned and taught in 
a new light or new view. Successful Sunday- 
school teaching depends upon successful re¬ 
views. 

A skilful teacher will use various methods 
in review work, according to the age and train¬ 
ing of the pupils in the class. One way is to 
choose sides as in a spelling match. Another 
good way is to have review questions written 
on slips of paper, distribute them evenly 
among the members of the class, then let them 
ask the questions one of another, the slips go¬ 
ing to the pupils who successfully answer 
them. At the close the one having the most 
slips wins. A half hour thus spent is attended 
with pleasure as well as profit. 

3. Examinations. Examinations in the Sun¬ 
day-school are just as valuable as examinations 
in the secular school. Oral ones may be used, 
but the teacher is likely to talk too much. A 

236 


TEACHING SUGGESTIONS 


class that has done faithful work for three 
months, and has had oral reviews, is usually 
not unwilling to take a written examination. 
In this way each pupil has a chance to answer 
all the questions. It is only fair that a class 
should have something definite and tangible 
to show for faithful work. The papers should 
be corrected by the teacher and handed back 
to the pupils. Only those teachers who have 
tried written work know of the interest that it 
will create. Tested truth is real truth and 
abiding truth. 

TOPICS FOR STUDY 

1. Point of contact in lesson on the Prodigal Son. 

2. Teaching missions by an exhibit. 

3. Biblical Geography made interesting. 

4. Concert drills. 

5. The model teacher. 


237 






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